My mother has been working hard for the last two weeks and she feels <u>run down</u>. (Select the word that is most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.)
- (a)morbid
- (b)energetic
- (c)exhausted
- (d)emotional
Correct — B, 'energetic'. Said of a person, 'run down' means worn out and below par in health after a stretch of strain, and the plain reverse of that is being full of energy. The sentence supplies the cause — two weeks of hard work — so what is being reversed is a low state of energy.
- (a)morbid — Morbid describes a gloomy turn of mind, especially one dwelling on illness or death, which is a different axis from bodily energy.
- (c)exhausted — This restates the underlined phrase instead of reversing it, and a near-synonym is the standard decoy in an antonym block.
- (d)emotional — Being emotional is about how freely feelings are shown and says nothing about how much energy a person has.
'Run down' has several senses; of a person it means tired and in poor health, and its opposite is a state of full vigour.
The pull towards 'exhausted' is strong because it fits the sentence so comfortably — a mother who has worked hard for two weeks really is exhausted. That comfort is the warning sign. The block asks for the reverse of the underlined phrase, so the option that slots in most naturally is usually the one to reject.
- Of a building, 'run-down' means neglected and in disrepair.
- As a verb, 'run down' can mean to knock someone over with a vehicle, or to criticise them.
- 'Below par' is the idiom that matches the health sense used here.
- Marking 'exhausted', which repeats the sense rather than reversing it.
- Reading 'run down' in its building or vehicle sense and hunting for the wrong kind of opposite.
Asked as an antonym item — choose the word most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'run down' in 'She has been feeling run down all week.'
- (a)weary
- (b)vigorous
- (c)anxious
- (d)quiet
Answer(b) vigorous — of a person, run down means low on energy and health.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'listless'.
- (a)sluggish
- (b)lively
- (c)careless
- (d)silent
Answer(b) lively — a listless person lacks energy and interest.