Question

"There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down. I get positively angry with the impertinence of it and the everlastingness."

Which of the following is an antonym for impertinence in the excerpt from the story?
A. having no connection with the given matter
B. respect
C. not showing the proper manners
D. insolence; disrespect

Answer 1

An antonym for "impertinence" in this excerpt is respect (B).

First of all, we need to establish what antonyms are: they are words of opposite meanings.

In this description, the character is annoyed by the eyes she perceives in the wallpaper's pattern; she thinks they are being rude because they keep staring at her. The meaning of impertinence, in this case, is insolence, effrontery. An antonym would therefore be respect.