NDA (II) 2022 GAT Q5: The novel depicts the hapless status of certain sections of

Q: What is the answer to NDA (II) 2022 GAT Q5?

D. Correct — D, fortunate. 'Hapless' is built from the old noun 'hap', meaning luck or chance, plus the ending -less: literally without luck. Reverse that and you arrive at the lucky one — 'fortunate'. Wretched and miserable describe how the unlucky feel, which is a consequence of bad luck rather than its opposite.

NDA (II) 2022 General Ability Test · Question 5 of 150

Question text verified against the official NDA question paper.

The novel depicts the hapless status of certain sections of society.

(a)wretched
(b)miserable
(c)rural
(d)fortunate

Answer

Why

Correct — D, fortunate. 'Hapless' is built from the old noun 'hap', meaning luck or chance, plus the ending -less: literally without luck. Reverse that and you arrive at the lucky one — 'fortunate'. Wretched and miserable describe how the unlucky feel, which is a consequence of bad luck rather than its opposite.

Why the others are wrong

(a)wretched — 'Wretched' means in a very unhappy or unfortunate state — close to 'hapless' in meaning, not opposed to it.
(b)miserable — 'Miserable' names the same condition of unhappiness and hardship, so it lies on the same side.
(c)rural — 'Rural' means belonging to the countryside. It is picked up from the talk of sections of society and has nothing to do with luck.

Concept

An antonym item on 'hapless', meaning luckless or unfortunate; its direct reverse among the choices is 'fortunate'.

The ending gives the game away. Where -less strips something out, the opposite puts it back, so 'hapless' reverses to lucky or fortunate rather than to happy. Two options tempt you by describing the misery that follows bad luck, and a third, 'rural', is bait drawn straight from the phrase about sections of society.

Key facts

The old noun 'hap' meant chance or luck and survives inside happen, haphazard, mishap and perhaps.
'Hapless' therefore means unlucky, and its standard opposites are fortunate, lucky and blessed.
Wretched and miserable describe suffering, which can follow bad luck without meaning it.

Study next

The ending -less and how it forms oppositesLuck vocabulary — hapless, fortuitous, providential, ill-fatedTelling a cause apart from its consequence in antonym setsSpotting bait options that merely echo the sentence

Common traps

Reversing 'hapless' to 'happy' by sound instead of to 'fortunate' by sense.
Choosing 'rural' because the sentence mentions sections of society.

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

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Select the word opposite in meaning to 'ill-fated'.
- (a)doomed
- (b)unlucky
- (c)blessed
- (d)tragic
Answer(c) blessed — ill-fated means destined to misfortune, and blessed reverses it while the rest agree with it.
practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the meaning of 'mishap'.
- (a)a small accident or piece of bad luck
- (b)a great success
- (c)a careful plan
- (d)a long journey
Answer(a) a small accident or piece of bad luck — the 'hap' in mishap is the same old word for luck.