Question

Choose the option which is nearly opposite in meaning to the word given below.
RESTIVE

• A. Buoyant
• B. Placid
• C. Resistant
• D. Insolent

Hint:

Do not confuse this with "restful"; think restless.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Many students mistakenly assume restive is related to "rest" and therefore means calm, but it actually behaves more like "restless." A good way to solve this is to recall restive in its typical usage: a "restive horse" or a "restive crowd," both describing agitation, impatience, or resistance to control.

Once this restless, agitated sense is fixed, the search shifts to finding a word describing the opposite state, calm and settled. Among the options, placid is the classic word for calm and untroubled, commonly paired with descriptions of still water or a peaceful temperament, making it the clearest opposite of an agitated, restless state.

The remaining options fail on closer inspection: buoyant describes a cheerful or floating quality, not stillness; resistant is a near homophone trap that actually describes opposition, not restlessness; insolent describes disrespect, an entirely different behavioral trait.

Let's summarize:

• Recall restive through common phrases like "restive crowd" to fix its restless meaning.
• Placid, meaning calm and peaceful, is the true antonym.

Anchoring an unfamiliar word to a common collocation, such as "restive horse," makes recalling its precise meaning much easier under time pressure.