Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the given word. Mechanical

Correct — C. The sense of mechanical being tested is worked by a machine, and its direct opposite is manual, done by hand.

The pair is the standard one in English: a mechanical gearbox against a manual gearbox, mechanical labour against manual labour.

Mechanical has a second sense, acting without thought, but no option here opposes that sense. Read against the machine sense, option (c) is the only reversal on offer.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Yielding — Yielding means giving way or submitting. It opposes rigid or stubborn, not mechanical, and belongs to an entirely different idea.
• (b)
  Automatised — Automatised means made automatic, which is a near synonym of mechanical rather than its opposite. Antonym items place a synonym here to catch a hurried eye.
• (d)
  Surrogate — Surrogate means acting as a substitute for someone or something. Substitution has no bearing on whether work is done by machine or by hand.

An antonym item is decided by which sense of the word the options can reach. A word with two live senses has two different opposites.

Mechanical means worked by machinery, and it also means done automatically, without thought. The first sense is opposed by manual. The second would be opposed by spontaneous or thoughtful, neither of which is printed.

So scan the options first, decide which sense they touch, and answer against that sense.

Key facts

• Mechanical in its primary sense means operated by machinery.
• Manual means done with the hands, from Latin manus meaning hand.
• Automatised means made automatic, so it sits on the same side of the meaning as mechanical.

Common traps

• Picking automatised because it looks technical and unfamiliar.
• Answering against the without-thought sense, for which this option set offers no opposite.

No directly related past PYQ was found.