Select the antonym of the word "endeavour", which means to make a serious attempt or effort.

Introduction / Context:
This vocabulary question asks for the antonym of "endeavour". In competitive exams, "endeavour" is commonly tested because it appears both as a noun ("an endeavour") and as a verb ("to endeavour"), usually meaning a serious effort or attempt. To find the antonym, you must think of a word that expresses the opposite idea: not making any effort or being inactive.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Target word: "endeavour" (to try hard, to make an earnest effort).
• Options: passive, buck, assay, intend.
• We must choose the option that expresses the opposite of trying or striving.

Concept / Approach:
"Endeavour" suggests action, initiative, and a willingness to work towards a goal. An antonym should indicate lack of effort, inaction, or non involvement. Among the options, "passive" describes a person or attitude that does not take active steps, does not initiate action, and often lets things happen without trying to change them. The other options are either synonyms or related to effort, not opposites.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Fix the meaning of "endeavour": as a verb, it means "to try very hard to do something", as a noun it refers to an attempt or enterprise. Step 2: Examine "passive": this adjective describes someone who does things without initiative, accepts what happens, and does not act energetically. Step 3: Check "buck": as a verb, it can mean to resist, oppose, or throw off, which is still an active action, not the opposite of endeavour. Step 4: Evaluate "assay": this can function as a verb meaning "to attempt" or "to try", making it close in meaning to "endeavour", not opposite. Step 5: Consider "intend": this means to plan or design to do something in the future; it relates to purpose, not to inactivity. Step 6: Therefore, "passive" best captures the idea of not making an effort, which is the natural antonym of "endeavour".

Verification / Alternative check:
Think in contrasts:

• Someone who endeavours to succeed works hard and takes initiative.
• A passive person does not strive, does not take initiative, and simply lets events unfold.

In exam style antonym questions, we often contrast verbs describing energetic effort with adjectives pointing to laziness or passivity. Thus pairing "endeavour" (effort) with "passive" (no active effort) makes logical sense.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• buck: Means to resist or oppose (for example, "buck the trend"); it shows active response, not absence of effort.
• assay: A near synonym of "try" or "attempt", so it cannot be an antonym.
• intend: Expresses purpose or plan, and often comes before an endeavour rather than opposing it.

Common Pitfalls:
A typical trap is to mistake "assay" for a negative word because it is unfamiliar. In reality, it has a positive "attempt" meaning very close to "endeavour". Another pitfall is to focus only on part-of-speech matching; although "endeavour" is usually a verb and "passive" is an adjective, competitive exams sometimes accept such pairings as antonyms when the ideas clearly oppose each other in semantic content.

Final Answer:
The antonym of "endeavour" among the given options is passive.