The verb "expedite" means to speed up or make a process happen more quickly. Which of the following words is most nearly its opposite in meaning?

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of antonyms, focusing on the verb "expedite". This word is often used in business, administration, and logistics to talk about making processes faster. Knowing its opposite helps you in vocabulary sections and in reading professional documents.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- "Expedite" means to make something happen more quickly or to speed up progress.
- We must choose the word that most nearly expresses the opposite meaning.
- Options are hasten, quicken, hinder, step up, and accelerate.

Concept / Approach:
If "expedite" means to speed something up, then the opposite must mean to slow something down, delay it, or create obstacles. Among the options, "hinder" clearly carries this idea. It means to obstruct, to make something more difficult or slower, or to hold back progress. The other options all suggest movement in the same direction as "expedite", that is, making things faster.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Restate the meaning of "expedite" as "to speed up" or "to move something along faster".
Step 2: Look for a word that expresses slowing down or obstructing a process.
Step 3: Recognise that "hinder" means to delay, block, or make progress difficult.
Step 4: Confirm that "hasten", "quicken", "step up", and "accelerate" all reflect speeding up and therefore cannot be antonyms of "expedite".

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider an example sentence: "The manager asked the team to expedite the shipment." The opposite idea would be "to hinder the shipment" by causing delays or adding obstacles. Replacing "expedite" with "hasten" or "accelerate" makes the sentence nearly synonymous, so those cannot be opposites. Only "hinder" reverses the direction of action from faster to slower.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- hasten: means to hurry or move faster, similar to expedite.

- quicken: also means to speed up, not to slow down.
- step up: means to increase the rate or intensity of something.
- accelerate: to increase speed or rate; this is a close synonym, not an antonym.

Common Pitfalls:
Because all the words except "hinder" sound energetic and active, some candidates choose them without carefully recalling the definition of "expedite". Always focus on the direction of meaning. When the question asks for an opposite, check whether the candidate word reverses the main idea rather than repeating it in different wording.

Final Answer:
The opposite of "expedite" is "hinder".