Select the synonym (word closest in meaning) of “nutritious”, which describes food that promotes health and growth.

Introduction:
This vocabulary question asks you to choose a synonym for the adjective nutritious. The word nutritious is commonly used to describe food that provides the body with the substances it needs for health, energy, and growth. Recognising synonyms like this is important for reading comprehension, descriptive writing, and understanding health related texts.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Target word: nutritious. - Options: insubstantial, exceptional, nourishing, superlative. - Only one option should match the meaning related to health-giving food.

Concept / Approach:
Nutritious means full of nutrients and good for health. A very close synonym is nourishing, which also suggests that something supports growth, strength, or health. The other options describe different ideas: insubstantial means lacking strength or solidity, exceptional means unusual or outstanding, and superlative means of the highest quality or degree. None of these three directly expresses the idea of providing nourishment to the body.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall a simple definition: nutritious food is food that is good for health and provides necessary nutrients. Step 2: Compare this with nourishing, which is used in phrases like nourishing meal or nourishing soup. Step 3: Notice that insubstantial is almost the opposite, suggesting something that is light, weak, or inadequate. Step 4: Recognise that exceptional means rare or unusually good in some way, but not necessarily healthy. Step 5: Understand that superlative means best in quality or degree, but again does not specifically refer to nutrition. Step 6: Therefore, nourishing is the correct synonym of nutritious.

Verification / Alternative check:
Use the words in example sentences. You might say The doctor advised me to eat nutritious food and The doctor advised me to eat nourishing food. Both sentences convey the same idea. However, The doctor advised me to eat exceptional food or superlative food sounds odd and unclear. The phrase insubstantial food suggests the opposite of what a doctor would recommend, further confirming that nourishing is the correct choice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Insubstantial implies that something is not substantial enough, whether in quantity or quality, and usually suggests weakness or insufficiency. Exceptional can refer to something that stands out, which might be good or bad, but does not necessarily imply nutritional value. Superlative refers to peak quality, often in comparison, but it could refer to taste, appearance, or luxury rather than health. None of these words directly matches the health-giving aspect of nutritious.

Common Pitfalls:
Some students may choose superlative simply because they associate nutritious food with something good and assume the highest degree of goodness. However, synonym questions demand similarity of core meaning, not just a positive tone. Always focus on the specific idea the original word conveys. In this case, that idea is health-giving nourishment, which is expressed most clearly by the word nourishing.

Final Answer:
nourishing is the correct synonym of nutritious.