Directions: item in this section consists of a sentence with an underlined word followed by four words. Select the option that is opposite in meaning to the underlined word and mark your response in your Answer Sheet accordingly.The experience of Covid Pandemic was excruciating for much of the population.

Question

Prepp Team · Accepted Answer

Understanding the Question: Finding the Antonym of Excruciating

The question asks us to identify the word that has the opposite meaning (antonym) of the underlined word, "excruciating," as used in the sentence: "The experience of Covid Pandemic was excruciating for much of the population." To answer this, we need to understand the meaning of "excruciating" and then look for the option that represents the opposite degree of severity or intensity.

Defining Excruciating

The word "excruciating" is an adjective used to describe something that causes intense physical or mental pain or suffering. It implies something that is extremely painful, agonizing, or unbearable. In the context of the Covid Pandemic, it refers to the severe difficulty, pain, or distress experienced by a large part of the population.

Analyzing the Options for Antonyms

Let's examine each of the provided options to determine which one is the opposite of "excruciating":

gnawing: This word often describes a persistent, dull pain or a nagging worry. While unpleasant, it doesn't typically imply the extreme intensity of "excruciating." However, it is still a negative term related to discomfort or distress.
gruelling: This word describes an experience that is extremely demanding, difficult, or exhausting. Like "excruciating," it suggests a very challenging and unpleasant situation.
harrowing: This word describes something that is acutely distressing, traumatic, or frightening. It implies a very difficult and painful emotional or psychological experience, similar in intensity to "excruciating" in terms of suffering.
mild: This word describes something that is not severe, intense, or extreme. It suggests a gentle, moderate, or slight degree of something.

Finding the Opposite Meaning (Antonym)

Comparing the meaning of "excruciating" (extremely painful, severe, intense) with the options, we can see that "gnawing," "gruelling," and "harrowing" all describe negative experiences that are difficult, painful, or distressing, some quite intensely so. They are closer in meaning to "excruciating" than being its opposite.

"Mild," on the other hand, signifies a lack of severity or intensity. If an experience is "excruciating," it is extremely severe and painful. The opposite of being extremely severe and painful is being not severe or painful, which is what "mild" means.

Therefore, "mild" is the word that is most opposite in meaning to "excruciating."

Revision Table: Key Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Relation to Excruciating
Excruciating	Extremely painful, agonizing, unbearable	The base word
Gnawing	Persistent dull pain or worry	Related to discomfort/distress, but usually less intense
Gruelling	Extremely demanding or difficult	Similar in implying hardship
Harrowing	Acutely distressing or traumatic	Similar in implying severe suffering
Mild	Not severe, gentle, moderate	Opposite in intensity

Additional Information: Antonyms and Synonyms

Understanding antonyms and synonyms is crucial for vocabulary building and comprehension. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. A synonym is a word that means the same or nearly the same as another word.

For example:

Antonym pair: Hot – Cold
Synonym pair: Happy – Joyful

In this question, we were looking for the antonym of "excruciating." While there might not be a perfect single-word antonym for every word, "mild" serves as the best opposite among the given choices by representing the lack of severity characteristic of something "excruciating."