Antonyms Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The antonym of inert is lively. Inert means without energy or movement, and the sentence contrasts life that technology made inert with a life that man should make more lively.

Quaint (old-fashioned and charming), uninterested (without interest) and hazardous (dangerous) are not the opposites of inert, and ‘hazardous’ does not fit the sentence's meaning.

Inert is used here of life made passive by technology, and the contrast the sentence draws is with a life that is active and full of energy. ‘Lively’ has this sense of energy, while ‘hazardous’ means dangerous and ‘quaint’ means old-fashioned in an attractive way.

Answer: A

The antonym of frugal here is extravagant. Frugal means careful with money, and the sentence says he claims to be frugal but his spending is rather extravagant, which means lavish.

‘Miserly’ and ‘inexpensive’ are close to frugal, not opposite, and ‘loud’ has nothing to do with spending.

The word ‘but’ in the sentence signals a contrast between the claim and the fact. A claim of a frugal lifestyle is contradicted by spending that is extravagant, which is lavish or wasteful. A word like ‘miserly’ would repeat the claim and not contradict it.

Answer: D

Confident is the antonym of timid. The sentence contrasts a timid, bashful brother with a sister who is poised, so the blank needs the opposite of timid, which is confident. Submissive and weary describe passivity or tiredness, and grumpy describes mood; none of these is the opposite of timid. Timid means shy and lacking courage, and the sentence contrasts it with poised, so the antonym that makes the contrast is confident, which means self-assured.

Answer: A

Adoration means deep love and respect, almost worship. Its opposite is opprobrium, which means harsh criticism or the disgrace that comes from shameful conduct. Approbation means approval and is close in sense to adoration, deference means respectful submission, which also points the same way, and prejudice is a preconceived opinion, which is not the opposite. The answer is Opprobrium, option (A).

Answer: C

The antonym of 'indistinct' that fills the blank is 'clear'. Indistinct means not clear to the eye or ear, and the sentence says her handwriting was so clear that every word stood out, which is the opposite of indistinct.

'Soft' and 'large' describe other qualities and would not make every word stand out in the sense given. 'Forward' is not an antonym of indistinct at all. So the third option is the answer.

Answer: C

The antonym of feeble is strong.

The sentence says Mrs. Raghava Nandan was remarkably strong and energetic, and 'strong' is the opposite of 'feeble'.

'Weird', 'dedicated' and 'fancy' are not opposites of feeble.

The blank is given with 'feeble' in brackets, and the antonym is asked. The sentence says she was 'remarkably ___ and energetic', so the word is the opposite of feeble. 'Strong' is the antonym of feeble. 'Weird' means strange, and 'fancy' means decorative.

Answer: B

The antonym of protagonist is antagonist.

A protagonist is the leading character of a story, or a leading supporter of a cause. Its opposite is the antagonist, the character or person who opposes the protagonist. The two words share the Greek root agonistes, a contestant: pro- is the first contestant and anti- the one against.

The other words only look similar. An agnostic holds that the existence of God cannot be known, an arsonist deliberately sets fire to property, and an anarchist rejects all government. None of them is the opposite of a central figure.

Answer: A

The opposite of QUIESCENT is active.

Quiescent means in a state of inactivity or rest, quiet and still for the time being: a quiescent volcano, a quiescent disease. Its exact opposite is active.

'Dormant' is a near synonym of quiescent, not an opposite, and is the usual trap. 'Weak' describes lack of strength, not inactivity, and 'unconcerned' describes indifference, a state of mind rather than activity.

Answer: C

The antonym of concealed is unveiled.

To conceal is to hide something or keep it secret. To unveil is to uncover it or make it known, the exact opposite: They unveiled the matter.

Denied is close in tone to concealing, since it means refusing to admit something, so it is not an opposite. Respected and trusted are attitudes towards a person or thing and have no connection with hiding or revealing. Other antonyms of conceal are reveal, disclose and expose.

Answer: C

The antonym of peak is Nadir.

A peak is the highest point, of a mountain or figuratively of a career or a graph. The nadir is the lowest point, as in 'the nadir of his fortunes'. In astronomy the nadir is the point directly below the observer, opposite the zenith.

Pinnacle, acme and zenith all mean the highest point, so they are synonyms of peak, not antonyms.