Question

A contextual usage is provided for the word below. Pick the word that is most inappropriate.

MALINGER: The young man made it a point to malinger in spite of the assigned work load.

• A. Wander
• B. Laze
• C. Evade
• D. Argue

Hint:

Malinger means to fake being unwell to avoid work. Find the option unrelated to avoiding duty.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Malinger means to pretend to be sick or injured so as to get out of doing work or duty. The sentence uses it to describe a young man who deliberately avoids his assigned work load. We need the one option whose meaning does not sit with that idea.

1. Wander: To wander means to move about without a fixed purpose or destination. It is not a direct synonym of malinger, but a person who wanders off instead of working is, in a loose sense, avoiding the job at hand, so this word stays in the same neighbourhood of meaning.
2. Laze: To laze means to spend time being idle or lazy instead of working. This is close in spirit to malingering, since both describe someone dodging effort.
3. Evade: To evade means to avoid or escape a duty or responsibility, which is almost exactly what malinger describes, just without the pretence of illness. This fits well.
4. Argue: To argue means to exchange or state opposing views, often with some heat. This has nothing to do with pretending illness or dodging work, it is about disagreement, not avoidance.

Wander, laze and evade can all describe, directly or loosely, a person who is avoiding work. Argue describes something completely different: expressing disagreement. It does not belong with the other three in the context of "malinger".

Let's summarize:

• Malinger means to fake illness or incapacity to dodge duty.
• Wander, laze and evade all connect to avoiding work in some way.
• Argue is about disagreement, unrelated to shirking work, so it does not fit the context.

The most inappropriate word here is "Argue", option D.