Select the word from the given options that is OPPOSITE to the meaning of the word-TACITURN.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → garrulous
- Taciturn means habitually silent; saying very little. It comes from the Latin "tacitus" (silent), the root also seen in "tacit".
Example: The taciturn old man hardly spoke a word all evening. - Garrulous means talking too much, especially about unimportant things (Latin "garrire", to chatter). A taciturn person talks very little and a garrulous person talks a lot, so garrulous is the antonym.
Example: The garrulous passenger kept talking for the whole journey.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: tainted — Incorrect. Tainted means spoiled or made impure; it has nothing to do with how much a person speaks.
Example: The water was tainted with chemicals.
Option 2: reticent — Incorrect. Reticent means unwilling to speak about one's thoughts or feelings; it is a synonym of taciturn, not its opposite.
Example: She was reticent about her past.
Option 4: imprudent — Incorrect. Imprudent means unwise; not thinking of the results of one's actions; it is unrelated to speech.
Example: It was imprudent of him to lend all his savings to a stranger.
| Synonyms (Taciturn) | Antonyms (Taciturn) |
|---|---|
| reticent | garrulous |
| reserved | talkative |
| uncommunicative | loquacious |
| silent | voluble |
The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:
| Word | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| taciturn | 12-05 S1 19-05 S1 31-05 S2 07-06 S2 | 14-05 S2 16-05 S1 21-05 S1 23-05 S1 | 29-05 S1 | – | – |
| taint | – | – | – | 11-06 S3 | – |
| reticent | 07-06 S2 | 31-05 S1 02-06 S1 | 15-05 S1 | – | – |
| garrulous | 31-05 S2 07-06 S2 | 14-05 S2 21-05 S1 23-05 S1 | 29-05 S1 | – | 17-08 S1 20-08 S1 |
| imprudent | 14-05 S1 | 26-05 S1 | – | – | – |