From the given options, choose the word which is opposite in meaning to:
'accumulate'
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → dwindle
To accumulate is to gather or collect more and more of something over time, so that it grows in amount. Its antonym is dwindle.
Example: Dust accumulated on the books in the closed room.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) accelerate | to speed up (its opposite is to slow down, not to accumulate) | The car accelerated on the highway. |
| (2) android | a robot that looks like a human being (it is a noun with no link to collecting or shrinking) | The film is about an android that wants to become human. |
| (3) ambiguous | having more than one possible meaning, not clear (it is about meaning, not about gathering or losing) | His ambiguous reply left us confused. |
| (4) dwindle (answer) | to become gradually smaller or fewer (accumulate means to grow by adding, dwindle means to shrink little by little) | The village population has dwindled as young people move to cities. |
| Synonyms of accumulate: gather, collect, amass, pile up Antonyms of accumulate: dwindle, disperse, scatter, diminish Also asked in CUET (UG): ambiguous – 19-05-2026 Slot 2, 18-05-2026 Slot 2, 30-05-2025 Slot 1, 21-05-2025 Slot 2 dwindle – 05-06-2023 Slot 3, 24-05-2023 Slot 3 |