jeff_999  +  135475 Fri, 09 Sep 05 09:53 AM METEORIC: A. skeptical B. pessimistic C. complacent D. gradual E. exemplary (Choose a lettered word that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the word in the capital letters.) Okay, we all can tell only D makes sense in this question. But is it convincing to set ‘gradual’ as the right answer? Any related to “lasting” would be more right. “Gradual” doesn’t sound ‘any lasting’.  jeff_999 Joined on Wed, Oct 20 2004 Xiamen Regular Member 817 Capital Letters

	Waïti  +  135508 Fri, 09 Sep 05 11:20 AM In my opinion 'meteoric' emphasizes how fast it went, not necessarily how fugitive it was. In which case 'gradual' is definitely fine as the right opposite. But this is just how it sounds to my (non native) ear... Waïti Joined on Thu, Aug 25 2005 Regular Member 568

	davkett  +  135536 Fri, 09 Sep 05 12:59 PM Hi Jeff,    Where does 'lasting' or 'any lasting' come from?    'Meteoric' means  'resembling a meteor in speed or in sudden and temporary brilliance.'     davkett Joined on Tue, Jun 7 2005 Pennsylvania, USA Senior Member 2,788 "The rose stays fresh in its name..." -Bernard of Morlay

	jeff_999  +  135546 Fri, 09 Sep 05 01:46 PM Thank you. Here it is: fame is just a meteoric thing; we should instead pursue something lasting and substantial. jeff_999

	CalifJim  +  135676 Fri, 09 Sep 05 09:15 PM So "meteoric" can mean "fast" or "short-lived".  Given the choices presented in the original problem, it's clear that the authors of the item wanted you to focus on "fast".  I'll bet you could construct another five choices to test for "meteoric" meaning "short-lived"!  How about it?  Want to try?  CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,415 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	MrPedantic  +  135771 Sat, 10 Sep 05 02:30 AM But I suppose we could say that a meteor gradually accelerates, as it approaches Earth... MrP MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris...

	julielai  +  135794 Sat, 10 Sep 05 04:17 AM I've always wanted to ask: What do you all think about these analogy/antonyms questions?  Are they, in your mind, fair questions? Do you have such questions in, say, British exams? julielai Joined on Sun, Oct 24 2004 Senior Member 3,827 Just another blogger (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/julie-lai) Antonyms, Analogies

	MrPedantic  +  135901 Sat, 10 Sep 05 11:50 AM Well, I don't know if anything similar turns up in any British exams. But the fact that native speakers often disagree about the answers does suggest that the questions aren't very well constructed. MrP MrPedantic

	davkett  +  135918 Sat, 10 Sep 05 01:04 PM  MrPedantic wrote: But I suppose we could say that a meteor gradually accelerates, as it approaches Earth... Yes.  though it does so 'meteorically'. davkett