If ‘→’ denotes increasing order of intensity, then the meaning of the words
[charm → enamor → bewitch] is analogous to [bored → _______ → weary].
Which one of the given options is appropriate to fill the blank?
jaded
baffled
dead
worsted
ANSWER
(A) jaded. The chain reads bored → jaded → weary: one idea (losing interest and growing tired of something) at rising strength, just as charm → enamor → bewitch is one idea (attraction) at rising strength.
Official answer: ASource: Official answer key, GATE 2024 EC (IISc Bengaluru)
Read the given chain. charm → enamor → bewitch is one idea, attracting someone, at rising strength. To charm is to please or attract, to enamor is to fill someone with love, and to bewitch is to hold someone completely under a spell.
Apply the analogy. The second chain must also be one idea at rising strength. It starts at 'bored' and ends at 'weary', so it is about losing interest and growing tired of something. The blank needs a word from that same family that sits between the two.
(A) jaded: tired and dulled from having had too much of something. It belongs to the boredom-to-weariness family and is stronger than plain 'bored', so it fits bored → jaded → weary.
(B) baffled: puzzled or confused. That is a different idea from boredom, so it breaks the analogy.
(C) dead: lifeless. It does not name a degree of boredom, and as an extreme word it could not sit in the middle of the chain anyway.
(D) worsted: a kind of woollen yarn, or an old word for 'defeated'. Neither meaning has to do with boredom.
Only 'jaded' keeps one idea running through the chain at rising strength: bored → jaded → weary. The answer is (A).
KEY IDEA
An intensity analogy needs two things at once. The missing word must carry the same meaning as both ends of its chain, and it must be stronger than the first word and weaker than the last. 'Jaded' (dulled by too much of something) is the only option that names a degree of boredom, and it sits between 'bored' and 'weary'.
WATCH OUT FOR
Choosing 'dead' because of phrases like 'bored to death'. 'Dead' does not mean a degree of boredom, and an extreme word could not go in the middle of the chain. Another trap is 'worsted', which looks like 'worse' or 'worst' but means a woollen yarn or, in old usage, 'defeated'. 'Baffled' is a different feeling (confusion), not a stronger form of boredom.
From the GATE 2024 EC paper. Every question of this paper · Download the full paper · All 41 Reasoning questions, with notes
