Amid commotion the leader and his supporters remained passive.
- (a)quietude
- (b)uproar
- (c)tempest
- (d)stir
Answer
A
Why
Correct — A, quietude. The item asks for the word most opposite in meaning to 'commotion', a noisy disturbance or agitation. 'Quietude' means calm, stillness and tranquillity — the exact contrast, so it is the antonym.
Why the others are wrong
- (b)uproar — A loud, confused noise or disturbance — a synonym of 'commotion', not its opposite.
- (c)tempest — Literally a violent storm and figuratively a tumult or upheaval — it echoes 'commotion' rather than opposing it.
- (d)stir — A disturbance, fuss or excitement — again close in sense to 'commotion', so not the antonym.
Concept
An antonym item — the highlighted word 'commotion' denotes noisy disturbance, and the task is to pick its opposite, a state of calm.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'turbulence'.
- (a)chaos
- (b)serenity
- (c)turmoil
- (d)unrest
Answer(b) serenity — calm is the opposite of turbulence, while chaos, turmoil and unrest are synonyms.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'pandemonium'.
- (a)bedlam
- (b)tumult
- (c)tranquillity
- (d)clamour
Answer(c) tranquillity — the other three all mean noisy chaos.