Synonyms and Antonyms

Cathartic means providing psychological relief through open expression (emotional) or purging/cleansing (physical/medical). 'Purgative' directly relates to the medical meaning - something that cleanses or purges. 'Alleviate' is related but different (reduces severity).

Catholic (lower-case c) means universal, comprehensive, or broad-minded - covering all things or people. This derives from the Greek 'katholikos'. 'Universal' is the direct synonym. The religious term 'Catholic' comes from this meaning of universal church.

Castigate means to criticize or reprimand someone severely, often in a formal way. 'Chastise' is the closest synonym - meaning to punish, scold, or criticize harshly. 'Praise' and 'applaud' are antonyms. 'Free' and 'rejuvenate' are unrelated.

Cavil means to raise petty or trivial objections, to find fault with unimportant details. 'Raise trivial objections' is the precise definition. 'Surrender' and 'suppress' are actions, not arguments. 'Prejudiced' and 'inexperienced' describe people, not the act of objecting.

To cede to someone or something refers to yield or formally surrender or relinquish. 

Chagrin means a feeling of embarrassment, disappointment, or distress - usually from failure or humiliation. 'Embarrassment' is the closest match among options. 'Agony' and 'peril' are too strong. 'Esteem' is opposite. 'Displeasure' is milder and different.

Chicanery means the use of trickery, clever but dishonest practices, or deception to achieve a goal. 'Deception' captures this core meaning. 'Genuine' and 'innocent' are antonyms. 'Futile' and 'malleable' are unrelated concepts.

Citadel means a fortress or stronghold overlooking a city, used for defense. 'Fortress' is the direct synonym. 'Valley' and 'trench' are geographic depressions (opposite). 'Temple' is religious architecture. 'Heights' is vague - a citadel is ON heights but not the heights themselves.

'Censorious' means severally critical or faultfinding.

Cleave means to split or separate something, typically by force. Option D 'split' is the correct synonym. Other options like 'join,' 'united,' 'cement,' and 'associate' are antonyms or unrelated, making them easy to eliminate.

Cogent refers to an argument that is convincing, compelling, and logically sound. Option D 'convincing' is the correct synonym. Options A, B, and C are antonyms, while E 'reasonable' is close but less precise than the primary meaning.

Coddle means to treat with excessive care or indulgence, like pampering someone. Option A 'treat tenderly' correctly captures this meaning. The other options (abuse, mismanage, use force, compel) are opposite behaviors.

Collusion refers to secret cooperation or conspiracy for deceptive or illegal purposes. Option C 'conspiracy' is the exact synonym. The other options are unrelated concepts or have positive connotations opposite to collusion's negative meaning.

Except 'repel' all the other words mean to charm, lure etc. Repel means to ward off or reject. So, the correct answer is option 1.

Sable means black, dark-colored, or a type of fur. Raven, Sooty, and Ebony all relate to black or dark colors. Eponym means a name derived from a person (like 'sandwich' from the Earl of Sandwich), which is unrelated to color or darkness.