WAEC 2019 English Language · Question 70

Judgement should always be in favour of the innocent and not the …

Question

From the list of words lettered A to D, choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word and that will, at the same time, correctly fill the gap in the sentence. Judgement should always be in favour of the innocent and not the_________

In the original paper part of this question is underlined. The underline isn't shown here: see the explanation below.

A.guilty
B.accused
C.weak
D.elderly

Answer: A. guilty

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question The sentence is: "Judgement should always be in favour of the innocent and not the ____." The word "innocent" is the one underlined (the opposite is needed). We want the word that is opposite in meaning to "innocent" and that also fits the gap.

Explain the concept This is an antonym question with a context check. First find the opposite of the key word, then confirm it makes sense in the sentence.

Solution

Innocent means not guilty of a crime or offence.
Its direct opposite is guilty.
Check the other options: • Accused: a person charged with an offence. An accused person can be innocent or guilty, so it is not the opposite of innocent. • Weak: opposite of strong, not related to innocence. • Elderly: means old, so it has no link with innocence.

Putting it in the sentence: "Judgement should always be in favour of the innocent and not the guilty." This makes sense and expresses the idea of justice.

Answer: The correct option is A. guilty.

Tip: In antonym questions with a sentence, always test your chosen word in the gap. Watch out for distractors like "accused", which relates to the topic but is not a true opposite.

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