Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the following word. Forbid

Correct — B. Forbid means to order that something not be done — to refuse permission.

Its antonym is therefore the verb that grants permission, and that is allow.

The pair reverses cleanly in ordinary use: a rule that forbids parking becomes a rule that allows it → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Call — Call means to summon, or to name. It carries no permission sense at all, so it is not even on the same scale as forbid.
• (c)
  Prohibit — Prohibit means to forbid, usually by rule or law. It is a synonym, and the item asks for an antonym — the right scale, the wrong direction.
• (d)
  Forsake — Forsake means to abandon or give up. It shares the for- opening with forbid and nothing else, and abandoning something is not the same as permitting it.

An antonym item asks for a reversal on one scale, so fix the scale before you choose.

Forbid sits on the permission scale, at the refusing end. Its near-synonyms are prohibit, ban, bar and proscribe. Its antonyms are allow, permit, authorise and sanction.

Allow is the plain, everyday member of that antonym set, and it reverses forbid without adding a legal or formal colour.

Of the other three options, one is the synonym on the same scale and two are off the scale entirely, which is the usual shape of a four-option antonym item.

Key facts

• Forbid means to order that something not be done, that is, to refuse permission.
• Allow means to give permission, which makes it the direct antonym of forbid.
• Prohibit is a synonym of forbid, normally used of a rule or a law.
• Forsake means to abandon and carries no permission sense.

Common traps

• Picking prohibit because it is the option closest to forbid in meaning
• Reading forsake as a for- relative of forbid
• Choosing the most formal-sounding word when the plain one is the exact reversal

No directly related past PYQ was found.