Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Frigid
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Antonym questions test your understanding of a word by asking you to choose an option with the opposite meaning. The word sultry commonly appears in descriptions of weather and atmosphere in literature and news reports. Knowing its meaning and opposite helps you interpret passages about climate, physical comfort, and emotional mood.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- The keyword is Sultry.
- The options are Frigid, Muggy, Sticky, and Soggy.
- Only one option should represent an opposite or near opposite meaning.
- We assume sultry is used in its usual sense related to hot and humid weather.
Concept / Approach:
Sultry is used to describe weather that is hot and often uncomfortably humid. It can also be used metaphorically for a very warm and heavy atmosphere. Therefore, the opposite should express cold conditions. Frigid means extremely cold, usually in a way that feels harsh or uncomfortable. Muggy, sticky, and soggy all suggest dampness or humidity and either neutral or warm conditions, not cold. Thus, frigid is the clear antonym among the given options.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Verification / Alternative check:
Consider a sentence such as The city was sultry in the month of June, with no breeze at all. To express the opposite condition, we might write The city was frigid in the month of January, with icy winds blowing. Substituting muggy or sticky would preserve the idea of uncomfortable humidity and therefore would not create an opposite picture. Soggy might describe wet grounds after rain but does not directly oppose the heat aspect of sultry. This sentence transformation confirms that frigid is the correct choice.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Muggy is wrong because it describes warm, humid conditions, which are similar to sultry. Sticky is wrong for the same reason; it evokes a sense of damp heat making skin feel tacky. Soggy is wrong because it focuses on wetness rather than temperature and does not really counter the heat dimension of sultry. None of these options gives the cold contrast that an antonym should provide.
Common Pitfalls:
Many learners see moisture related words like muggy or sticky and assume they are opposite to sultry, forgetting that sultry itself includes humidity. Others may not distinguish clearly between temperature and wetness. A practical tip is to imagine a weather forecast scale from extremely hot to extremely cold, and then find the opposite end of where the given word sits. For sultry, that opposite point is a very cold word like frigid.
Final Answer:
The word that is opposite in meaning to sultry is Frigid.
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