Select the word that best expresses the meaning of the given word. EXOTIC

Concept

A “best synonym” question asks for the option whose meaning is closest to the headword. The test is substitution: the right answer is the word that could replace the headword in a sentence while keeping the same sense, not merely a word that is loosely associated with it.

Application

The headword EXOTIC means strikingly different from the ordinary — strange, foreign, or not commonly seen. Its core sense is “out of the ordinary.” The option that carries this same meaning is Unusual, which directly denotes “not usual, uncommon, out of the ordinary.” It passes the substitution test: an “exotic plant” and an “unusual plant” both convey something uncommon.

Contrast

Checking the remaining choices against the meaning of “exotic”:

• Familiar — means well-known and ordinary; this is the opposite of “exotic,” so it is an antonym, not a synonym.

• Thorough — means complete or carried out in full detail; it describes effort or care, unrelated to strangeness or foreignness.

• Excessive — means too much in amount or degree; it speaks to quantity, not to being unusual or foreign.

Only the choice meaning “out of the ordinary” matches “exotic,” which is why Unusual is correct.