The speech given by him seemed to be INNOCUOUS but there were undercurrents that implied the contrary:-
The ANTONYM of the word INNOCUOUS is:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Harmful
Innocuous means harmless, not likely to hurt or offend. In the sentence, the speech only seemed innocuous, while its undercurrents implied the contrary. Its antonym is harmful.
Example: It was an innocuous question about the weather.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Inoffensive | not causing offence (essentially a synonym of innocuous) | He made an inoffensive joke. |
| (2) Harmful (answer) | causing damage or hurt (the "contrary" the sentence points to) | Smoking is harmful to health. |
| (3) Gentle | mild and kind (close in meaning to harmless rather than its opposite) | She has a gentle voice. |
| (4) Insightful | showing deep understanding (it says nothing about harm) | The teacher gave an insightful answer. |
| Synonyms of innocuous: harmless, inoffensive, safe, innocent Antonyms of innocuous: harmful, dangerous, injurious, offensive Also asked in CUET (UG): innocuous – 07-06-2026 Slot 2, 18-05-2026 Slot 2, 15-05-2026 Slot 1, 30-05-2025 Slot 1, 21-05-2025 Slot 2, 20-05-2025 Slot 1, 30-05-2023 Slot 2 |