Match the words given in List-I with their opposites given in List-II…

The correct answer is Option (3) → (A) - (III), (B) - (IV), (C) - (I), (D) - (II)

List-I	List-II	Explanation	Example
(A) Adroit	(III) Inept	Adroit means skilful and quick with the hands or mind; inept means lacking skill, clumsy. The two words are antonyms.	She is an adroit negotiator who settles every dispute calmly.
(B) Acrimony	(IV) Cordiality	Acrimony means bitterness and ill feeling in speech or behaviour; cordiality means warmth and friendliness. The two words are antonyms.	The meeting ended in acrimony after the partners blamed each other.
(C) Dishevelled	(I) Unsullied	Dishevelled means untidy and disordered, as of hair or clothes; unsullied means not stained or spoilt, clean. This pair is fixed by elimination (see the Note).	He arrived dishevelled after running through the rain.
(D) Verbosity	(II) Brevity	Verbosity means the use of more words than are needed; brevity means the use of few words. The two words are antonyms.	The verbosity of the report made it tiring to read.

Note: The natural antonym of dishevelled is neat or tidy; unsullied (unstained) is only loosely opposite to it. As (A), (B) and (D) are certain, (C) can only go with (I), and Option (3) is the only option with all four pairs.

The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:

Word	2026	2025	2024	2023	2022
adroit	24-05 S1	27-05 S1	–	18-06 S3	–
acrimony	–	19-05 S2	–	–	–
verbosity	–	16-05 S1	–	–	–
unsullied	–	14-05 S2	–	–	–
inept	–	–	–	–	10-08 S1
cordiality	20-05 S1	–	–	24-05 S1	–