Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Agreeable
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Discordant is often used to describe sounds that are harsh and jarring or ideas and opinions that are in conflict. This question asks you to choose the antonym, the word that means the opposite. Recognising whether the word is about sound or agreement will help you pick correctly.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
If discordant music is unpleasant and clashing, harmonious or agreeable music would be pleasant and in tune. Similarly, discordant opinions are conflicting, whereas agreeable views fit together smoothly. Among the options, agreeable clearly expresses harmony, pleasantness, and lack of conflict. Aggressive suggested forceful behaviour, noisy refers to loudness (not necessarily conflict), and differ is a verb meaning to be unlike or not agree, which is close in sense to discordant, not opposite.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Fix the meaning of discordant as not in harmony, clashing, or in disagreement.Step 2: Look for a word that conveys harmony, pleasantness, or agreement as the opposite idea.Step 3: Recognise that agreeable describes something pleasant and in harmony with one feelings or preferences.Step 4: Check aggressive; it suggests forceful or hostile behaviour, but aggressive music is not automatically harmonious, so it is not an antonym for discordant.Step 5: Check noisy and differ; noisy describes volume, while differ means to disagree and is therefore near in meaning to discordant rather than opposite. Thus, agreeable is the correct antonym.
Verification / Alternative check:
Consider two music reviews: The piece was discordant and unpleasant to listen to versus The piece was agreeable and soothing. The second clearly describes something harmonious and pleasant, opposing the first. Similarly, two people may have discordant views (they clash) or agreeable views (they align). This shows how the meanings of discordant and agreeable naturally oppose each other in both sound and opinion contexts.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Aggressive refers to behaviour or style that is forceful or attacking; it does not necessarily imply harmony or lack of conflict. Noisy merely indicates being loud; sound can be loud yet still harmonious, or soft yet discordant, so noisy is not the direct opposite. Differ, as a verb, actually parallels the idea of discordant opinions: if two opinions differ, they are not in harmony.
Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes choose noisy because discordant sounds are often loud and unpleasant. However, the key part of discordant is not the volume but the lack of harmony or agreement. Always focus on the core meaning, not on incidental associations like loudness.
Final Answer:
The antonym of Discordant in this context is Agreeable, so option B is correct.
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