Question

Choose the word which is closest to the opposite in meaning to the italicized word.
Mohini was often teased as corpulent by her friends.

a. Belligerent
b. Gaunt
c. Garrulous
d. Fat

Answer 1

Hint: The word that has an exactly opposite meaning from what a particular word means is referred to as antonym.

Complete answer:
In simple terms, the word corpulent means to be fat. Therefore opposite of this word would mean something like thin, lean and other similar words.

Analyzing all the options, we can find the correct answer.

> Starting with option ‘A’, belligerent. This word means to be aggressive or violent. Now since the literal meaning of corpulent is to be fat, it does not necessarily mean that the person will be violent as well. Therefore, option A is incorrect.

> Option B that is word gaunt means thin or lean. This word has an exactly opposite meaning to the word corpulent. Therefore, option B can be the correct answer.

> Garrulous means a person who is very talkative. This option is also not correct as talkative cannot be the opposite of fat or corpulent. Therefore option C is incorrect.

> Fat means someone who is overweight. This is similar in meaning to the word corpulent. Since we are asked to identify the opposite word, therefore, option D cannot be the correct answer.

Thus, option B is the correct answer.

Note: The language of the question should be well understood to reduce the chances of error. As in this case, the language can be a bit confusing.