Bacteria do not become resistant to an antibiotic because they were exposed to it. Resistance appears first as a chance variation in a few individuals, long before any drug arrives. What the drug does is remove the competition. Kill the susceptible bacteria and the resistant few, which were previously a negligible fraction, inherit the whole environment and multiply freely. This is why finishing a prescribed course matters, and why using antibiotics where they can do no good, as with a viral infection, is not merely useless but actively harmful.
As used in the passage, negligible most nearly means
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Correct answer to question 40 (Paragraph Comprehension): too small to matter
Method
The resistant bacteria were a fraction so small it made no difference until the competition was removed. The first choice draws on the similar-looking word negligent, which means careless and is unrelated here.
Updated: November 2026