Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word. Lachrymose

Question

Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word.

Lachrymose

1. A. Tearful
2. B. Mournful
3. C. Weepy
4. D. Jovial (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — Jovial

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Jovial.

Key Points

• Lachrymose means tearful, given to weeping or inducing tears, from Latin *lacrima*, a tear.
• Its opposite is jovial — cheerful and good-humoured.
• Tearful, mournful and weepy are all synonyms of lachrymose, so the three-alike pattern isolates the answer at once.

Additional Information

• The same Latin root gives lachrymal glands, the tear-producing glands of the eye — a link worth remembering, since it fixes the meaning securely.
• Jovial derives from Jove (Jupiter), whose astrological influence was thought to produce a cheerful temperament — one of several English words drawn from the planets, alongside mercurial, saturnine and martial.
• Words for sorrow: doleful, morose, despondent, disconsolate, forlorn; words for cheer: jovial, mirthful, ebullient, blithe, convivial.