Select the option that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word: The police department's image was tarnished after the high-profile murder case.

Correct — B, tainted. Literally 'tarnish' is the dulling of a metal's lustre; figuratively, here it means the department's reputation was spoiled or stained, so the nearest word is 'tainted' (damaged, contaminated). 'Enhanced' and 'restored' point the opposite way (improving or rebuilding an image), and 'assigned' (given, allotted) is unrelated.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  enhanced — 'Enhanced' means improved or heightened — the opposite of having one's image damaged.
• (c)
  restored — 'Restored' means brought back to a former good state — again the reverse of being tarnished.
• (d)
  assigned — 'Assigned' means given or allotted; it has nothing to do with spoiling a reputation.

Synonym-in-context item: 'tarnished' (literally, metal losing its shine; figuratively, a reputation stained) matches 'tainted'.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Select the word nearest in meaning to 'sullied'.

  • (a)cleaned
  • (b)stained
  • (c)praised
  • (d)sold
  Answer(b) stained — 'sullied' means made dirty or disgraced, i.e. stained.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Select the synonym of 'blemished'.

  • (a)flawless
  • (b)flawed
  • (c)polished
  • (d)renewed
  Answer(b) flawed — 'blemished' means marked by a flaw or imperfection, i.e. flawed.