The growth and development of the peasant movement was indissolubly linked with the national struggle for freedom.

vaguely. Vaguely means indistinctly or without precision, which reverses the sense of a bond that cannot be broken.

individually. Individually means one by one or separately, and separateness is the opposite of being linked.

steadily. Steadily describes something going on at an even rate or without wavering over time; it comments on the pace of a process rather than the strength of a connection.

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NDA (I) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 5 of 150

Question text verified against the official NDA question paper.

The growth and development of the peasant movement was <u>indissolubly</u> linked with the national struggle for freedom.

Q: What is the answer to NDA (I) 2018 GAT Q5?

A. Correct: A, 'firmly'. Indissolubly means in a way that cannot be dissolved or undone, so a link described as indissoluble is one that holds fast; of the four options only 'firmly' says that the connection is strong and lasting.

(a)firmly
(b)vaguely
(c)individually
(d)steadily

Answer

Why

Correct: A, 'firmly'. Indissolubly means in a way that cannot be dissolved or undone, so a link described as indissoluble is one that holds fast; of the four options only 'firmly' says that the connection is strong and lasting.

Why the others are wrong

(b)
vaguely: Vaguely means indistinctly or without precision, which reverses the sense of a bond that cannot be broken.
(c)
individually: Individually means one by one or separately, and separateness is the opposite of being linked.
(d)
steadily: Steadily describes something going on at an even rate or without wavering over time; it comments on the pace of a process rather than the strength of a connection.

Concept

Indissoluble is built on 'dissolve' (a tie that cannot be dissolved) so the word is about the strength and permanence of a bond, not about speed or manner.

'Firmly' is not a dictionary equal of 'indissolubly'; the exact gloss would be 'inseparably'. A synonym block asks for the best available option rather than a perfect match, and once you see that only one option speaks about strength of connection, the choice settles. Splitting the word into its parts (in-, dis-, solve) is the quickest route to its meaning.

Key facts

Dissolve, soluble, solution and dissolution all come from the same Latin root meaning to loosen.
'Indissoluble' is used most often of bonds, unions and marriages.
The negative prefix in- appears as il-, im- and ir- before certain letters: illegal, immature, irregular.

Study next

Prefixes that reverse a word: in-, un-, dis-, non-Splitting an unfamiliar word into root and affixesAdverbs that describe strength as against speedVocabulary of bonds and ties: inseparable, unbreakable, enduring

Common traps

Choosing 'steadily' because it sounds positive and slips into the sentence smoothly.
Being put off by a long word instead of breaking it into its parts.

Asked as a synonym item: choose the word closest in meaning to the underlined word.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice, not a real PYQ
Choose the phrase closest in meaning to 'inseparable' in 'The two friends were inseparable.'
- (a)occasionally together
- (b)always together
- (c)easily parted
- (d)unfriendly
Answer(b) always together: inseparable means they could not be kept apart.
practice, not a real PYQ
Choose the word closest in meaning to 'indissoluble' in 'an indissoluble bond'.
- (a)temporary
- (b)permanent
- (c)invisible
- (d)complicated
Answer(b) permanent: the bond cannot be dissolved.

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