Select the word OPPOSITE in meaning to the given word. Deficient

Correct — B. Deficient means lacking, falling short of what is needed — a deficient diet does not supply enough.

Its opposite must run on the same axis, quantity, and point the other way: more than enough. Ample means plentiful, abundant, with room to spare.

That axis test is the whole item. Deficient measures how much there is, so the answer has to measure how much there is, and only option (b) does.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Terrible — Terrible measures quality, meaning very bad, while deficient measures quantity. A thing can be terrible and ample at once, so the two words are not on one scale.
• (c)
  Broken — Broken describes something no longer whole or working. That is condition, not amount, and it is not the reverse of falling short of what is needed.
• (d)
  Skimpy — Skimpy means scanty, barely enough — a synonym of deficient rather than its opposite. This is the standing trap in antonym items, the option nearest the headword in meaning.

Antonym items are settled by asking which dimension the word measures, then reversing that dimension.

Deficient measures quantity against a requirement: less than is needed. Its opposites are the words for enough and more than enough — ample, abundant, sufficient, plentiful.

Options measuring something else cannot be its antonym however negative or positive they feel. Terrible measures quality and Broken measures condition, so both are out before you weigh how strong they sound.

Key facts

• Deficient means falling short of the amount required.
• Ample means more than enough, plentiful.
• Skimpy means scanty or barely sufficient, which places it beside deficient rather than against it.

Common traps

• Choosing Skimpy because it feels closest to the headword, when closeness is what an antonym item punishes
• Reading deficient as bad in general, which makes Terrible look like the opposite

No directly related past PYQ was found.