Question

Choose the word that is opposite in meaning to “equivocal” as used in the sentence: “The witness gave an equivocal response that created further confusion during the investigation.”

• A. Ambiguous
• B. Vague
• C. Explicit
• D. Dubious

Hint:

High-level CUET vocabulary questions often use pairs such as Equivocal–Explicit, Obdurate–Flexible, Laconic–Verbose, and Magnanimous–Petty.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Concept: Vocabulary questions at the difficult CUET level often test subtle distinctions between closely related words. The word equivocal refers to something that is open to more than one interpretation, deliberately unclear, ambiguous, or uncertain in meaning. Such words are frequently confused with related terms like vague, dubious, or ambiguous. To answer correctly, it is necessary not only to know the meaning of the given word but also to identify its true opposite.

Step 1: Understand the meaning of the given word. The sentence states: “The witness gave an equivocal response that created further confusion during the investigation.” The phrase created further confusion provides a strong contextual clue. Thus, \[ \text{Equivocal} = \text{ambiguous} = \text{unclear} = \text{capable of multiple interpretations} \] An equivocal statement does not communicate a clear and definite meaning.

Step 2: Analyze each option carefully. Option (A): \[ \text{Ambiguous} \] Ambiguous means unclear or having multiple possible meanings. This is actually a synonym of equivocal rather than an antonym. Hence, option (A) is incorrect. Option (B): \[ \text{Vague} \] Vague means imprecise, indefinite, or lacking clarity. Again, this is closely related to equivocal. Hence, option (B) is incorrect. Option (C): \[ \text{Explicit} \] Explicit means clearly stated, leaving no room for doubt or confusion. This is exactly opposite to equivocal. Hence, option (C) is a strong candidate. Option (D): \[ \text{Dubious} \] Dubious means doubtful, questionable, or uncertain. Although related to uncertainty, it is not the opposite of equivocal. Hence, option (D) is incorrect.

Step 3: Identify the true antonym. Since \[ \text{Equivocal} = \text{unclear} \] and \[ \text{Explicit} = \text{clear and definite} \] the correct antonym is: \[ \boxed{\text{Explicit}} \]

Step 4: Final verification through sentence substitution. Replacing the word in the sentence conceptually: “The witness gave an explicit response.” Such a response would reduce confusion rather than increase it. Therefore the opposite meaning is correctly captured. \[ \boxed{\text{Option (C)}} \]