Read the given sentence and select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the word ‘Straighten’ from the following options.

The soldiers were crouching and crawling behind the fence to take a better shot at the enemies and surprise them.

crouching

The most appropriate antonym of the word 'straighten' in the given sentence is crouching.

• Straighten means to make something straight or to become straight.
• Crouching means to bend down and rest on one's haunches with the feet close together.

In the given sentence, the soldiers are crouching behind the fence to take a better shot at the enemies. This means that they are not standing up straight, but are instead bent down and close to the ground. Therefore, the antonym of 'straighten' in this context is 'crouching'.

The other options are not antonyms of 'straighten'.

• Fence is a barrier that separates two areas.
• Surprise means to catch someone unaware or unprepared.
• Enemies are people who are hostile or opposed to someone or something.