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GATE 2020 EC GA Q.3: solution and answer

GATE 2020 · ECGA Q.3 · 1 mark · MCQ

Select the word that fits the analogy:

Explicit: Implicit :: Express: ______

  1. (A)

    Impress

  2. (B)

    Repress

  3. (C)

    Compress

  4. (D)

    Suppress

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Answer and solution

ANSWER

Explicit and implicit are antonyms, and the antonym of express (to let a feeling out) is repress (to keep a feeling from being expressed). The answer is (B) Repress.

Official answer: BSource: Official answer key, GATE 2020 EC (IIT Delhi)

  1. Find the relation in the first pair. Explicit means stated openly. Implicit means present but not stated, only implied. The two words are antonyms: one is openly expressed, the other is held back.

  2. So the blank needs the antonym of express. To express a feeling or thought is to let it out and show it.

  3. (A) Impress: to make someone admire you, or to fix something in someone's mind. It is not the opposite of letting a feeling out. It only copies the ex- to im- prefix change from the first pair, and that is a spelling pattern, not a relation of meaning.

  4. (C) Compress: to press into a smaller space. This is about physical size, not about showing or hiding a feeling.

  5. (D) Suppress: its main sense is to put down by force or authority (suppress a revolt, suppress evidence). It can also mean holding back a reaction, but it is not the standard opposite of express.

  6. (B) Repress: to keep a feeling or impulse from being expressed. We say expressed emotions and repressed emotions. A repressed feeling is still there but is not shown, just as an implicit meaning is there but is not stated. Repress is the direct antonym of express.

  7. So Explicit : Implicit :: Express : Repress, option (B).

KEY IDEA

Work out how the first pair is related (here, they are opposites) and then find the word that has the same relation to the third word. Go by meaning, not by prefixes: explicit/implicit are opposites, so the blank takes the opposite of express, which is repress.

WATCH OUT FOR

Picking (A) Impress because it copies the ex- to im- prefix change of explicit/implicit. That is a spelling pattern, not a relation of meaning. The other trap is (D) Suppress. It can mean holding something back, but its main sense is putting something down by force. The usual opposite of expressed feelings is repressed feelings.

From the GATE 2020 EC paper. Every question of this paper · Download the full paper · All 41 Reasoning questions, with notes

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