Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
He walked into my clinic and placed a bottle on my table. A bottle of insecticide.
This disease has long been called the ‘suicide disease’. In recent times, it briefly returned to public conversation when actor Salman Khan spoke about his experience with facial pain. But two decades ago one man gave me a lesson in its brutality I will never forget.
Until 2004, I performed Microvascular Decompression [MVD] surgery for Trigeminal Neuralgia but not with the urgency and singular focus that now defines my practice. Then came an afternoon that changed the course of my life and shape of the work that we do at our neurosurgical centre in Pune today.
My clinic hours were over and I was ready to leave when my secretary hesitated at the door. “There’s a gentleman who has come from very far”, she whispered. “He looks quite distressed. I think you should see him. I asked her to send him in. Years of treating this disease had prepared me for patients in pain, yet this man’s appearance was startling. He was unshaven for days, his eyes were heavy. His right hand clutched a bag- his last hope.
“Are you Dr. Jayadev?” he asked with teeth clenched. Then he reached his bag and placed a bottle on my table labelled ‘insecticide’. ‘Please tell me you can cure me or I will drink this and end the pain.”
He had been suffering for six long years, surviving on high dose of anti-seizure medications. This man- a living proof that the disease could drive a person to the edge. Like the other patients he had been to various dentists in vain. The day he came to me, he was convinced that he needed surgery and so was I. Operation done, culprit found, a small artery.
Which of the following is the opposite of the word ‘Distressed’ used in the passage?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer as per the official NTA Answer Key is Option (2) → Alleviative
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, none of the options is an exact antonym of "distressed" (such as calm or composed). Alleviative is the nearest, because it describes what relieves distress, while the other three options are synonyms of the word, as explained below.
- Distressed means suffering from great worry, pain or sorrow. The secretary says the man "looks quite distressed": he is in severe pain and close to despair.
Example: The distressed mother searched everywhere for her lost child. - Alleviative means serving to relieve or lessen pain or trouble (from "alleviate"). It describes what eases distress, so it points the opposite way.
Example: The doctor prescribed an alleviative medicine for his pain.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Troubled — Incorrect. Troubled means worried or disturbed. It is a synonym of distressed, not an opposite.
Example: She had a troubled look on her face.
Option 3: Anxious — Incorrect. Anxious means worried and uneasy about something. It is a synonym of distressed.
Example: He felt anxious before the interview.
Option 4: Perturbed — Incorrect. Perturbed means made anxious or upset. It is a synonym of distressed.
Example: She was perturbed by the strange noise outside.
The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:
| Word | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alleviate | 14-05 S2 | 13-05 S1 19-05 S2 03-06 S2 | – | 23-05 S2 06-06 S1 06-06 S2 | 23-08 S1 |