NDA (II) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 14 of 146

Correct — C, 'prohibit'. 'Permit' is to give leave for something to happen and 'prohibit' is to forbid it, which makes them the plain opposites of this pair. The sentence is a request for leave to present a book, so the granting sense of 'permit' is the one in play.

• (a)allow — A synonym of 'permit', so it repeats the underlined word instead of reversing it.
• (b)enclose — Drawn in by the polite-letter setting, where one encloses a book with a note; it stands in no relation of opposition to 'permit'.
• (d)persuade — Means to talk somebody into something, which is neither granting leave nor withholding it.

'Permit' and 'prohibit' are the plain opposites of granting and forbidding.

The sentence is a formal courtesy — 'Permit me to present you with a book' means 'allow me to give you a book'. Two of the choices trade on that setting rather than on the word itself: 'enclose' belongs to letters and parcels, and 'persuade' belongs to the same polite register. Only one option denies what 'permit' grants.

• 'Prohibit' takes 'from' with an -ing form — prohibited from entering — while 'permit' takes a to-infinitive: permitted to enter.
• Forbid, ban and bar are the other everyday opposites of 'permit'.
• 'Permit' as a noun, stressed on the first syllable, means a written licence.

• Choosing 'allow' by matching the meaning of the underlined word.
• Being led by the polite setting of the sentence towards 'enclose'.

Asked as an antonym item on an underlined verb.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Fill the blank — Visitors are prohibited ______ entering the laboratory.

  • (a)to
  • (b)from
  • (c)of
  • (d)for

  Answer(b) from — 'prohibit' is followed by 'from' and an -ing form.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which word is opposite in meaning to 'forbid'?

  • (a)prevent
  • (b)sanction
  • (c)restrain
  • (d)refuse

  Answer(b) sanction — in this sense it means to permit officially, while the rest all withhold.