Question

Choose the word/phrase which is opposite in meaning to the italicized word/phrase in the sentence.
She bought a gaudy shawl as a wedding gift for her sister.
A) Fatuous
B) Sober
C) Garnish
D) Ornate

Answer 1

Hint: Antonyms are the words that are opposite in meaning to another. The root words for the word 'antonym' are the words 'anti' meaning 'against' or 'opposite' and 'onym' meaning 'name’. For instance: the antonym of ‘hot’ is ‘cold’.

Complete answer:
The meaning of the word gaudy is ‘extravagantly bright or showy, typically so as to be tasteless or garish or loud’. So, as per the question we must find the word which is opposite in meaning to the word gaudy.

Option A) Fatuous - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of fatuous is ‘silly and pointless or stupid or foolish’ and this is not antonym of the word gaudy. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Option B) Sober - is the correct answer because the meaning of sober is ‘clear headed or sensible’ and this is the antonym of the word gaudy as they have different meaning or they are opposite in meaning to each other. Thus, this is the correct answer.

Option C) Garnish - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of garnish is ‘decorate or embellish (something, especially food) or decorate’ and this is not antonym of the word gaudy. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Option D) Ornate - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of ornate is ‘elaborately or highly decorated or fancy’ and this is not antonym of the word gaudy. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Hence, the correct answer is Option ‘B’.

Note: Antonyms are the words that are opposite to each other i.e. antonyms of gaudy are sober and synonyms are the words that are similar in meaning. So, the synonym of gaudy is tasteless. Thus, Option B is the most appropriate answer as compared to the other options as they do not have the opposite meaning to the given word.