Twice, he was repulsed with heavy losses

Analyze the question: The task is to find the word most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word. The underlined word is not marked in the text, but from the sentence it is clearly "repulsed".

Explain the concept: "Repulse" has two common meanings:

1. To drive back or repel (an attack, an enemy). Example: "The army repulsed the attack."
2. To rebuff or reject someone coldly. It can also mean to disgust, or to cause strong dislike.

Here, "repulsed with heavy losses" most likely means driven back or defeated. The word "repulsed" can also be read as "disgusted", and that is the meaning the question bank seems to rely on.

Check each option:

• A. repelled is a synonym of repulsed (driven back), so it is not the opposite.
• B. gratified means pleased or satisfied. It is the opposite of "disgusted/repulsed" in the emotional sense.
• C. irated is a distorted form of "irate" (angry). It is close in feeling to being repulsed, not opposite.
• D. shocked is similar in feeling to being repulsed, not opposite.

Honest note on the sentence: If "repulsed" means "driven back" in a military sense, none of the options is a perfect antonym, because the true opposite would be something like "welcomed" or "allowed in". Among the four options, only gratified works as an opposite, since the other three are synonyms or near-synonyms.

Answer: B. gratified

Exam tip: In opposite-meaning questions, first eliminate options that mean the same or nearly the same as the underlined word. Here A, C and D are all on the "repelled/upset" side, so the odd one out (B) is your answer. Also check whether the word has more than one meaning, because JAMB often tests the less common one.