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GATE 2026 EC GA Q.1: solution and answer

GATE 2026 · ECGA Q.1 · 1 mark · MCQ

Among the following options, the antonym of the word ‘nocturnal’ is _________.

  1. (A)

    normal

  2. (B)

    diurnal

  3. (C)

    abnormal

  4. (D)

    exceptional

See the question in the paper
GATE 2026 EC GA question 1Tap to open full size

Answer and solution

ANSWER

The antonym of ‘nocturnal’ (active at night) is ‘diurnal’ (active during the day), so the answer is option (B).

Official answer: BSource: Official answer key, GATE 2026 EC (IIT Guwahati)

  1. Meaning of the word. Nocturnal (from Latin nox, noctis = night) means active or happening at night, as in "owls are nocturnal birds".

  2. What an antonym must be. An antonym is the opposite on the same scale of meaning. Here the scale is time of day, so the answer has to mean "active or happening during the day".

  3. Check (A) normal. It means usual or ordinary. It has nothing to do with night or day, so it is not the opposite of nocturnal.

  4. Check (C) abnormal and (D) exceptional. Both mean unusual or out of the ordinary. They describe how common something is, not the time of day, so neither can be the opposite.

  5. Check (B) diurnal. From Latin dies = day: active or happening during the daytime, as in "most butterflies are diurnal". This is the exact opposite of nocturnal on the day–night scale.

  6. Conclusion. The antonym of ‘nocturnal’ is ‘diurnal’, so the answer is option (B).

KEY IDEA

A true antonym is the opposite on the same scale of meaning. Nocturnal is about the time of day (night), so its antonym must also be about time of day: diurnal (by day). The Latin roots help here: nox = night, dies = day.

WATCH OUT FOR

Seeing the shared ending "-nal" and choosing 'normal', or treating nocturnal as meaning "unusual" and then picking its opposite. Options (A), (C) and (D) are about how ordinary something is, not about night and day, so none of them can be the antonym.

From the GATE 2026 EC paper. Every question of this paper · Download the full paper · All 32 Grammar & vocabulary questions, with notes

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