In the question, four alternatives are given for the underlined word in the sentence. Choose the alternative which best expresses the opposite meaning of the word. It was as if the newer hybrids had an insatiable appetite for chemicals.

Correct — D. Insatiable is in- (not) plus satiable, from Latin satiare, to satisfy. It describes an appetite that cannot be satisfied however much it is fed.

Strip the negating in- and the opposite appears: an appetite that can be satisfied. Satisfiable says exactly that, so option (d).

The axis matters. Insatiable is about whether a want can ever be filled, and satisfiable is the only choice that answers on that axis.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Curbed — Curbed means held in check by something outside — restrained, not satisfied. Its own opposite is unchecked, so it answers a different question from the one insatiable asks.
• (b)
  Urgent — Urgent describes how pressing a demand is, not whether it can be met. An urgent appetite and an insatiable one point the same way, so it cannot be the reversal.
• (c)
  Pressing — Pressing is a near-synonym of urgent and, like it, intensifies the demand instead of reversing it. Two options that mean the same thing cannot hold the single answer between them.

An antonym built on a negative prefix has a mechanical solution: find the prefix, strip it, and read what is left.

Insatiable = in- + satiable. The base word satiable means able to be satisfied, so the antonym is whichever option carries that idea, and satisfiable carries it in the commoner word.

The distractors sit on a different axis. Urgent and pressing measure how hard the appetite presses; curbed says whether something outside has restrained it. Neither asks what insatiable asks, which is whether the appetite can be filled at all.

Key facts

• Insatiable means impossible to satisfy, from Latin satiare, to satisfy.
• The prefix in- negates, as in incapable, inaccessible and inaudible.
• Satiate, satiety and satiable belong to the same root family as insatiable.
• To curb is to restrain or hold in check, and its opposite is unchecked.

Common traps

• Picking curbed because restraint feels like the opposite of an unstoppable appetite
• Spending time choosing between urgent and pressing, which mean nearly the same thing

No directly related past PYQ was found.