Question

Choose the word/phrase which is opposite in meaning to the italicised word/phrase in the sentence.
His boorish ways amused everyone.
(a) refined
(b) funny
(c) eccentric
(d) friendly

Answer 1

Hint: The italicized word is “boorish” which means to be coarse and unrefined. We have to find the meaning opposite to the meaning of boorish. Thus, the word we are looking for is something that would be similar to being well-mannered.

Complete answer:
 Words opposite in meaning are also known as antonyms. So, we have to find the antonym of the word boorish.
(a) refined- Refined when related to manner means to be very well-mannered and cultured. A person possessing refined behavior appears to be very elegant. The twelve-year old’s refined manners impressed everyone. This is the right answer.
(b) funny- Something is funny if it makes you laugh. The new stand-up comedian has some really funny jokes up his sleeve. Being funny is not the opposite of having boorish behavior/ways.
(c) eccentric- Eccentric means to be out of the ordinary/normal way that something is or should be. We were surprised by Jack’s eccentric behavior at work. This is not the antonym of boorish.
(d) friendly- Friendly means to be cheerful and easy to talk to. The people at my new school were really friendly so I had no problem fitting in. Boorish does not exactly mean “rude”, so its opposite cannot be friendly. The correct answer is option (a).

Note:
Take note that boorish does not mean rude. It just means bad behavior which the person is not aware of while being rude has an element of vindictiveness in it. Thus, do not get confused between “refined” and “friendly” as the antonym of “boorish”.