Choose the option that best replaces the underlined word without changing the meaning of the given sentence:
There is a persistent need to reform our education system, which produces tractable and pliable citizens, rather than critical minds that interrogate the flaws in the systems that govern our lives.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → docile
- Tractable means easily controlled, managed or taught (from the Latin tractare, to handle). The sentence criticises an education system that turns out citizens who are easy to control and do not question the systems that govern them.
Example: The new recruits were tractable and followed every order without complaint. - Docile means quiet, obedient and easily controlled. Both words describe a person who does what he or she is told, so docile is the synonym; it also sits naturally beside "pliable" in the sentence.
Example: The elephant was so docile that children could feed it by hand.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: traceable — Incorrect. Traceable means able to be found or followed back to its source. It only sounds like "tractable": tractable is about being easy to control, traceable about being easy to track.
Example: The stolen phone was traceable through its GPS.
Option 2: balky — Incorrect. Balky means stubborn and refusing to go on or obey; it is the opposite of tractable.
Example: The balky mule refused to cross the stream.
Option 4: fastidious — Incorrect. Fastidious means very careful about every detail and hard to please; it says nothing about being easy to control.
Example: He is fastidious about the way his shirts are ironed.
| Synonyms (Tractable) | Antonyms (Tractable) |
|---|---|
| docile | balky |
| compliant | intractable |
| manageable | unruly |
| amenable | stubborn |
The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:
| Word | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| docile | 14-05 S2 30-05 S1 | – | 29-05 S1 | 13-06 S1 | – |
| fastidious | – | 14-05 S2 30-05 S1 | 29-05 S1 | – | – |