Question:easy

Choose the one-word substitute for the given phrase.
A person filled with excessive zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause.

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Think of the word used for someone whose devotion to a belief becomes extreme and uncritical.
Updated On: Jul 20, 2026
  • Lunatic
  • Critic
  • Fanatic
  • Cynic
  • Skeptic
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

This is a straightforward one-word substitution question, and the trick is to focus on the two key ideas in the phrase: "excessive zeal" and "religious or political cause". Scan the five options with these two ideas in mind. "Lunatic" is about mental instability, not zeal for a cause. "Critic" is about judging things, not about devotion. "Cynic" is about distrust of motives. "Skeptic" is about doubting claims. Only "fanatic" combines intense, often unreasonable devotion with a religious or political context, which is the standard dictionary sense of the word. So the correct one-word substitute is "fanatic", option (c), answer 3.
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Although cynics may like to see the government’s policy for women in terms of the party’s internal power struggles, it will nevertheless be churlish to deny that it represents a pioneering effort aimed at bringing about sweeping social reforms. In its language, scope and strategies, the policy document displays a degree of understanding of women’s needs that is uncommon in government pronouncements. This is due in large part to the participatory process that marked its formulation, seeking the active involvement right from the start of women’s groups, academic institutions and non-government organizations with grass roots experience.
The result is not just a lofty declaration of principles but a blueprint for a practical programme of action. The policy delineates a series of concrete measures to accord women a decision-making role in the political domain and greater control over their economic status. Of especially far-reaching impact are the devolution of control of economic infrastructure to women, notably at the gram panchayat level, and the amendments proposed in the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 to give women coparcenary rights.
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  • IBSAT
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