In each of the following sentences, there is one word underlined and one gap. From the list of words lettered A – D, choose the word that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word and that will, at the same time, correctly fill the gap in the sentences.
You will succeed fairly well with adolescents if you coax rather than……them
-
coerce
- punish
- pamper
- curse
The correct answer is: A
Explanation
The underlined word "coax" means to gently persuade or encourage someone to do something. The opposite of this would be "coerce," which means to force or pressure someone into doing something against their will.
Thus, the complete sentence would read:
"You will succeed fairly well with adolescents if you coax rather than coerce them."