NDA (I) 2024 General Ability Test · Question 5 of 146

Correct — D, manage. To 'squander' money is to waste it recklessly, so the opposite is to 'manage' it — to handle and spend it carefully and economically. 'Fritter away' (waste little by little) and 'splurge' (spend extravagantly) both describe wasteful spending like squander, and 'squabble' (to quarrel) has nothing to do with money — so only 'manage' reverses the meaning.

• (a)fritter away — Means to waste money or time gradually; a synonym of squander, not its opposite.
• (b)splurge — Means to spend lavishly and extravagantly; another form of wasteful spending, close to squander.
• (c)squabble — Means to quarrel noisily over something trivial; it has nothing to do with spending money, so it cannot be the antonym.

This is an antonym item — 'squander' means to waste money, so the opposite is 'manage' (to use it carefully); fritter away and splurge are wasteful synonyms and squabble is an unrelated 'quarrel' look-alike.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Select the word opposite in meaning to 'squander'.

  • (a)waste
  • (b)conserve
  • (c)dissipate
  • (d)exhaust

  Answer(b) conserve — 'squander' means to waste; 'conserve' (to save) is its opposite.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the antonym of 'extravagant'.

  • (a)lavish
  • (b)wasteful
  • (c)frugal
  • (d)prodigal

  Answer(c) frugal — 'extravagant' means wasteful with money; 'frugal' (economical) is its opposite.