NDA (II) 2024 General Ability Test · Question 3 of 141

Correct — B, carelessly. To do something 'conscientiously' is to do it with diligent, careful attention; the direct opposite is doing it 'carelessly' — without care or thoroughness. The other three adverbs — 'assiduously' (diligently), 'painstakingly' (with great care) and 'scrupulously' (with meticulous attention) — are all synonyms of conscientiously, so none can be the antonym.

• (a)assiduously — 'Assiduously' means with great diligence and perseverance — a synonym of conscientiously, not its opposite.
• (c)painstakingly — 'Painstakingly' means with careful, thorough effort — again a synonym, pointing the same way as conscientiously.
• (d)scrupulously — 'Scrupulously' means with meticulous attention to detail and correctness — another synonym, not the antonym.

Antonym item on adverbs of manner: 'conscientiously' (with diligent care) versus 'carelessly' (without care); three of the four options are near-synonyms, so the odd one out is the answer.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Select the antonym of 'diligently'.

  • (a)industriously
  • (b)negligently
  • (c)attentively
  • (d)carefully

  Answer(b) negligently — 'diligently' means with careful effort; 'negligently' (with carelessness) is its opposite.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word opposite in meaning to 'meticulously'.

  • (a)carelessly
  • (b)precisely
  • (c)thoroughly
  • (d)exactly

  Answer(a) carelessly — 'meticulously' means with great attention to detail; 'carelessly' is its opposite.