From the list of words lettered A to D, choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word and that will, at the same time, correctly fill the gap in the sentence.

That engineer was said to have used inferior than _____ materials in the construction of the collapsed building.

3BYKE

4 years ago

how about quality

Yusmud

2 years ago

quality is preferred to excellent
is this how they fail candidate

olacot

2 months ago

The correct answer is C. quality.


Explanation
In this sentence, the word inferior is used to describe materials that are of lower rank, value, or standard. To find the best fit for the gap, the chosen word must satisfy two conditions:
Antonym: It must be nearly opposite in meaning to "inferior."
Contextual Appropriateness: It must correctly complete the phrase "inferior than [word] materials."
Why "Quality" is the best fit:
In the construction industry and common usage, "inferior materials" are contrasted with "quality materials" (materials of a high standard).
While "excellent" or "exceptional" are synonyms for high quality, they are often used as absolute adjectives and sound less natural in the phrase "rather than quality materials" in this specific past question format.
TestDriller
TestDriller
+3
Why the other options are incorrect
A. Excellent: While opposite to inferior, "quality" is the more standard term used to denote building standards in this specific comparative context.
B. Recommended: This refers to materials suggested by an authority, but materials can be recommended without necessarily being the opposite of "inferior" in terms of physical grade.
D. Exceptional: This implies something unusually good or rare, which is too strong a contrast for a general statement about building standards.