NDA (II) 2017 General Ability Test · Question 13 of 150

Correct — A, 'niggard'. The word carries the sense of miserliness — an unwillingness to part with money — which is the exact reverse of giving freely to a relief fund. The paper prints it in the adjective slot, where standard English would use 'niggardly'; the sense intended is the stingy one, and that is what the key rewards.

• (b)selfish — Selfishness names a motive, caring only for oneself, and a selfish person may still hand over money when it suits him; the sentence is about the act of giving.
• (c)spendthrift — A spendthrift parts with money freely and wastefully, so this sits on the same side as generosity — it is the opposite of a miser, not of a giver.
• (d)indecent — Indecency is about propriety and good taste, an axis the underlined word never touches.

'Generous' here means free in giving, so its reverse is grudging or tight-fisted; 'niggardly' is the adjective English keeps for that, and 'niggard' is ordinarily its noun.

Two things have to be handled honestly. The paper prints 'niggard' where the adjective 'niggardly' would be expected, and it is reproduced here as printed — the sense is unmistakable and the key treats it as the stingy option. Separately, 'spendthrift' is the trap: it sounds like a fault, so a candidate hunting for something bad picks it, without noticing that a spendthrift gives money away even more readily than a generous person does.

• 'Niggardly' means grudging or mean with money and is unrelated in origin to any modern slur.
• A spendthrift is wasteful with money, and the word's true opposite is a miser.
• The item asks about the giving of a contribution, so the reverse has to lie on the giving axis rather than the motive axis.

• Choosing 'spendthrift' because it is a disapproving word.
• Rejecting the intended option because it is printed in the noun form rather than as 'niggardly'.

Asked as an antonym item — choose the word most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'generous' in 'He was generous with his time.'

  • (a)grudging
  • (b)wasteful
  • (c)cheerful
  • (d)punctual

  Answer(a) grudging — the reverse of giving freely is giving unwillingly.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'spendthrift'.

  • (a)wasteful
  • (b)miser
  • (c)borrower
  • (d)trader

  Answer(b) miser — a spendthrift squanders money while a miser hoards it.