Fill in the blank with the antonym, in context, of the capitalized word in the…

Concept

An antonym expresses a meaning opposite to another word. In a context-based antonym question, the replacement must reverse the highlighted meaning while preserving the sentence’s grammar and logical sequence.

Application

Here, departure is a noun meaning the act of leaving a place. The blank needs a noun for the opposite event: reaching or coming to a place. Arrival supplies that meaning, so the sequence is: the person arrived, and one hour later the person departed.

Cross-check and contrast

The completed sentence—“His departure took place an hour after his arrival”—is grammatical and gives a coherent time order. Merriam-Webster also lists arrival as an antonym of departure.

• Exit denotes going out or a way out, so it belongs to the same leaving-related sense as departure.

• Approval denotes formal consent or a favorable opinion, not movement between places.

• Arrival denotes the act or occasion of reaching a place.

• Defeat denotes a loss in a contest or conflict, not movement between places.

Therefore, the contextual antonym is arrival.