Choose the most appropriate option to fill in the blank:
The doctor has ___ him from drinking alcohol if he wants to get well.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → proscribed
Proscribe means to forbid something officially. The doctor has forbidden alcohol because the patient must stay away from it to get well. (Proscribe and prescribe sound alike: to proscribe is to forbid, to prescribe is to advise a medicine or treatment.)
Example: The use of these chemicals is proscribed by law.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: conducted — Incorrect. Conduct means to carry out or lead an activity; one cannot "conduct someone from" doing something.
Example: The doctor conducted a full examination.
Option 2: scolded — Incorrect. Scold means to speak angrily to someone for doing something wrong; it does not take "from drinking", and the sentence is about forbidding, not scolding.
Example: The teacher scolded the boy for coming late.
Option 3: encouraged — Incorrect. Encourage means to give support or confidence to do something; it gives the opposite sense, as a doctor would not urge alcohol on a patient who wants to get well.
Example: Her parents encouraged her to take up music.
Note: "Proscribe" usually takes the thing forbidden as its object ("proscribed alcohol"); the pattern "proscribed him from drinking" is unusual. It is still the only option whose meaning fits the sentence, so it is the answer by elimination.
The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:
| Word | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| proscribe | – | – | 29-05 S1 | – | – |