Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Contemporaries
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This one-word substitution question focuses on a term used to describe people or things that exist or live at the same time. Such vocabulary items are common in history, literature, and general English usage, and they often appear in SSC, banking, and other competitive exam papers. Understanding their precise meaning is important for both comprehension and expression.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The word "contemporaries" is used to describe people who live at the same time or belong to the same age or period. For example, two writers are contemporaries if they wrote during the same historical period. The other words, such as "comrades" or "renegades", refer to entirely different ideas like friendship or rebellion. Therefore, the correct approach is to match the time-related idea in the phrase with the time-related vocabulary option.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the key idea: being from the "same period" or same time frame.
Step 2: Recall that "contemporary" means "living or occurring at the same time". The plural "contemporaries" refers to people of the same time.
Step 3: Evaluate "comrades": this means friends, companions, or colleagues, especially in a political or military context, not specifically people from the same period.
Step 4: Evaluate "compromises": this word relates to agreements in which each side makes concessions, and has nothing to do with time period.
Step 5: Evaluate "renegades": this refers to people who betray or desert a cause, party, or principle, so again it is unrelated to the idea of time period.
Step 6: Conclude that "Contemporaries" directly matches the meaning "belong to the same period".
Verification / Alternative check:
Think of common expressions: "Shakespeare and Marlowe were contemporaries" means they lived and wrote in the same era. You would not say they were "compromises" or "renegades" to express this idea. Dictionary definitions confirm that "contemporary" means "living or occurring at the same time", and "contemporaries" are people of roughly the same age or period. This is exactly what the phrase in the question describes.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Common Pitfalls:
A common error is to pick "comrades" because it sounds like it could describe people together, but this ignores the specific time-related aspect of the phrase. Always match the central idea of the given phrase to the key idea of the option, not just to a vague sense of group or people. Building a strong vocabulary through regular reading and revision of word lists is essential to avoid such traps in one-word substitution questions.
Final Answer:
The correct one-word substitution is Contemporaries.
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