meaning of good in 'He is a good student'.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello,

I have a question on the meaning of ‘good’ in ‘He is a good student.’

  1. He is a good student. = He gets high grades at school.
  2. He is a poor student. = He gets low grades at school.

I think ‘a good student’ means normally a student of good performance at school. So in this case, the antonym of good is poor like in 2).

  1. He is a bad student. = He is a student with a bad temper.
  2. He is a _______ student. = He is a student with a good personality.

So, in this case, what is the antonym of bad here?

A. Can I fill with ‘good’ in the blank?
B. If so, can the meaning of ‘good’ be different according to the context?
C. If not, what words can fill in the blank?

Please let me know.

Thank you in advance,
sweetpumpkin

2

Yes, good can change with the context. If you want to be more clear you could use “obedient/attentive/respectful student” as possible antonyms.

3

Thank you, Luschen.

Then I have one more question. When you see ‘He is a good student’ without any context, what do you think first? ‘He gets high grades in school.’? I’m curious.

Thank you in advance,
sweetpumpkin

4

To me, without any context, it means he does well in school, that he gets high grades.

Also, a “bad student” may not necessarily mean one who does not behave, it may just means he gets bad grades, though I agree that “poor” is a better word to use for that meaning.

By the way, another antonym that I forgot, but which may be best of all, is “well-behaved”.