Multiple choice

Direction: Select the option with a similar meaning as per the context.

Gradually

Directions: Some words in the verse below have been highlighted. Select the best meaning for the corresponding word.

One is not amazed,
At a first glance,
By a poem,
Which is as tight-closed
As a tiny bud.
Yet one is surprised      
To see the poem
Gradually unfolding,
Revealing its rich inner self
As one reads it
Again

  1. Quickly

  2. Step by step

  3. Hardly

  4. Slowly
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

'Gradually' means happening slowly and in stages. In the poem, the meaning of the poem is revealed slowly as you read it again, just as a bud opens slowly. 'Slowly' is the correct synonym. 'Quickly' is the opposite, 'Step by step' is related but more about sequence than speed, and 'Hardly' means barely - none capture the meaning of happening at a slow, steady pace.

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