NDA (II) 2017 General Ability Test · Question 3 of 150

Correct — C, 'frighten'. To intimidate somebody is to frighten them, usually with threats and usually in order to make them do something or stop doing it. The sentence has a police officer working on a witness, and 'but in vain' tells us the pressure failed to shake him.

• (a)inform — Informing a witness is simply telling him something and carries no pressure at all.
• (b)reward — A reward is an inducement offered, the opposite tactic to a threat.
• (d)persuade — Persuasion works through reasons and appeals; intimidation works through fear, and the difference between the two is exactly what the word carries.

'Intimidate' means to frighten someone into or out of a course of action, and it always implies pressure rather than argument.

The trap is 'persuade', because both words describe an officer trying to change a witness's mind and both fit the frame 'tried to ___ the witness'. What separates them is the method — fear against reasoning — and it is the method, not the aim, that the underlined word names.

• 'Intimidate' comes from Latin 'timidus', meaning fearful, which is also the root of 'timid'.
• Witness intimidation is a recognised offence in Indian criminal law, which is why the word is common in court reporting.
• 'In vain' means without success, so the sentence records an attempt that did not work.

• Choosing 'persuade' because it fits the situation of an officer pressing a witness.
• Overlooking 'in vain', which confirms that force rather than agreement was being attempted.

Asked as a synonym item — choose the word or group of words most similar in meaning to the underlined word.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'intimidate'.

  • (a)encourage
  • (b)bully
  • (c)advise
  • (d)imitate

  Answer(b) bully — to intimidate is to frighten someone by threats.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'coerce'.

  • (a)request
  • (b)compel
  • (c)assist
  • (d)confuse

  Answer(b) compel — coercion is forcing someone to act against their will.