Select the word opposite in meaning to the underlined word.
At first the workers were not agreeable to the proposals of their Manager, but later they were reconciled to the new proposals.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → resistant
To be reconciled to something is to come to accept it, often after first being against it. At first the workers did not agree with the Manager's proposals, but later they accepted them. Its antonym is resistant.
Example: After many months, he became reconciled to living away from home.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) resistant (answer) | opposing something and refusing to accept it (it describes how the workers felt before they changed their minds) | The villagers were resistant to the new road through their fields. |
| (2) placated | calmed down and made less angry (a placated worker is close to a reconciled one, so the word is near a synonym, not the opposite) | The angry customer was placated with a full refund. |
| (3) cooperate | to work together willingly (it is a verb, not an adjective like reconciled, and its meaning is close to reconciled, not opposite) | The neighbours cooperate to keep the street clean. |
| (4) agreed | having accepted a plan or opinion (a synonym of reconciled here, not an antonym) | Both teams agreed to the new rules. |
Note: In the original NTA paper, Option 2 read "estranged". NTA accepted this option as a correct answer as well. To leave only one correct answer and avoid confusion for students, it has been changed here to "placated".
Advice for the exam: In the real exam, mark the answer that is grammatically or factually correct. If NTA’s provisional answer key marks a different option, challenge it during the answer-key challenge window and give the reason in one or two lines.
| Also asked in CUET (UG): placate – 27-05-2025 Slot 1, 23-05-2025 Slot 1, 15-05-2025 Slot 2 |