Identify the antonym of "Malice":
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
Kindness
Explanation
The word 'malice' is a noun that refers to the desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another person, or having ill will and wicked intent. To solve this quickly for an exam, analyze the prefix "mal-", which comes from Latin and always means bad, evil, or wrong (as seen in words like malfunction, malevolent, and malnutrition).
Since the question asks for an antonym, you must find a word with a purely positive, well-meaning definition.
Evaluating the options, 'cruelty' means behavior that causes pain or suffering to others. 'Hatred' means intense dislike or ill will. 'Spite' means a desire to hurt, annoy, or offend someone. Because cruelty, hatred, and spite all share a negative meaning and act as direct synonyms to malice, they can be easily eliminated. The word 'kindness' means the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate, making it the perfect opposite choice. Therefore, Option 3 is the correct choice.
Key Points
Identifying vocabulary antonyms requires recognizing when multiple choices share synonymous meanings with the target word, leaving the contrasting term as the correct selection.
The words cruelty, hatred, and spite function as direct contextual synonyms to the word malice.