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Question

Difficulty: HardAntonyms and Words Opposite in Meaning

During the economic summit, the finance minister defended the government's PARSIMONIOUS budgetary allocations to public healthcare as a temporary measure to curb inflation. Which of the following words is MOST NEARLY OPPOSITE in meaning to the word PARSIMONIOUS as used in the sentence?

  1. munificentAnswer
  2. B
    penurious
  3. C
    prudent
  4. D
    fiscal

Answer

The word most nearly opposite in meaning to 'parsimonious' is 'munificent'.
In this context, 'parsimonious' describes spending or allocation that is extremely tight, miserly, or frugal. The word 'munificent' means characterized by liberal generosity or lavishness, making it the exact antonym required.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the contextual meaning of the highlighted word
In the context of government budgeting that limits funding to public healthcare to curb inflation, 'parsimonious' means excessively frugal, meager, or stingy.
Understanding the exact contextual connotation of the target word is required before searching for its antonym.
2
Evaluate candidate antonyms against the target meaning
'Munificent' signifies characterized by great generosity or bountifulness, which directly contrasts with being meager and stingy in spending.
An antonym must express the opposite quality along the same semantic spectrum.
3
Eliminate distractors based on error categories
'Penurious' is a synonym (stingy/poor), 'prudent' reflects general financial caution rather than generosity, and 'fiscal' is a domain descriptor.
Distractors exploit prompt inversion (synonym for antonym) and register misapplication.

Key Concept

Contextual Antonyms and Advanced Lexical Contrast
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Antonyms and Words Opposite in Meaning

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