Vocabulary – choose the word that is closest in meaning to sad.

Introduction / Context:
Synonym questions test how well you understand common adjectives that describe feelings and moods. Here, the base word is sad, an emotion that appears in reading passages, stories, and daily conversation. You are asked to choose the word that has the closest meaning among the given options. Being able to identify a precise synonym for sad is very useful when you read literature or attempt descriptive writing tasks.

Given Data / Assumptions:

The key emotion is sadness, a feeling of unhappiness or low spirits.
All options are adjectives frequently used to describe emotional states.
Only one option should have a meaning close to sad rather than happy, lucky, or excited.
The question focuses on general English usage, not rare literary meanings.

Concept / Approach:
A synonym is a word that has the same or almost the same meaning. Sad refers to feeling unhappy, gloomy, or down. The adjective somber (also spelled sombre in British English) is often used for moods, atmospheres, and occasions that are serious, dark, and slightly depressing. It naturally overlaps with sadness. On the other hand, cheerful, content, jubilant, and fortunate all relate to positive emotional states and therefore move in the opposite direction. The correct answer is the one negative adjective in the list that matches the emotional tone of sad.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify sad as a negative feeling describing unhappiness or low mood. Step 2: Look at each option and quickly divide them into positive and negative feelings. Step 3: Recognise that cheerful, jubilant, fortunate, and content all describe pleasant or satisfied states. Step 4: Note that somber describes something serious, dark, or gloomy, and is often used for sad moods or serious situations. Step 5: Conclude that somber is the only option that functions as a near synonym for sad.

Verification / Alternative check:
Place each option in a test sentence and see which one fits best. For example, After hearing the news, she felt very sad. If we replace sad with somber, the sentence still makes sense: After hearing the news, she felt very somber. If we use cheerful or jubilant instead, the meaning completely reverses and becomes logically wrong in a context of bad news. We also say a somber mood, a somber expression, or a somber ceremony, all of which are associated with sorrow or seriousness. This checking confirms that somber is the correct choice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A cheerful means happy and full of good spirits, which is the opposite of sad.
Option B fortunate refers to being lucky or having good fortune rather than an emotional mood like sadness.
Option D content describes a calm satisfaction, the feeling of being pleased with what one has, which does not express sadness.
Option E jubilant means extremely joyful or triumphant and is very far from the unhappy emotion expressed by sad.

Common Pitfalls:
Sometimes exam takers confuse somber with words like sober, which can mean serious or not drunk. Even then, the serious aspect still overlaps with sadness rather than happiness. Another pitfall is not paying attention to the positivity or negativity of each option. A reliable strategy is to quickly label each option as positive, neutral, or negative and then focus on those that share the same emotional direction as the target word.

Final Answer:
The word that is closest in meaning to sad is somber.