Antonyms Examples! An antonym(or opposite) is a word opposite in meaning to another (e.g. bad and good ). Following is a list of 180 common antonyms examples in English. They have been chosen especially for ESL learners.
Learn a list of 180 antonyms examples in English.
1. idle – busy
2. illegal – lawful
3. imaginary – real
4. import – export
5. imprison – free
6. include – exclude
7. lead – follow
8. left – right
9. careful – careless
10. catch – throw
11. beginning – end
12. beg – offer
13. stay – go
14. stop – go
15. straight – crooked
16. in – out
17. inside – outside
18. joy – grief
19. kind – mean
20. king – queen
21. knowledge – ignorance
22. known – unknown
23. large – small
24. last – first
25. laugh – cry
26. lazy – industrious
27. admit – deny
28. advance – retreat
29. stranger – friend
30. strengthen – weaken
31. strong – weak
32. summer – winter
33. sun – moon
34. sweet – sour
35. beneath – above
36. best – worst
37. bitter – sweet
38. black – white
39. borrow – lend
40. bottom – top
41. boy – girl
42. brave – scared
43. break – fix
44. wet – dry
45. cease – begin
46. certain – uncertain
47. cheerful – sad
48. city – country
49. closed – open
50. cold – hot
51. above – below
52. absent – present
53. abundant – scarce
54. accept – refuse
55. accidental – intentional
56. accurate – incorrect
57. increase – decrease
58. heavy – light
59. hide – show
60. after – before
61. against – for
62. ahead – behind
63. all – none
64. always – never
65. antique – modern
66. asleep – awake
67. attack – defend
68. aunt – uncle
69. authentic – imitation
70. awake – asleep
71. bad – good
72. bald – hairy
73. beautiful – ugly
74. brother – sister
75. buy – sell
76. drunk – sober
77. dry – wet
78. hungry – full
79. husband – wife
80. combine – separate
81. comedy – tragedy
82. reward – punishment
83. right – wrong
84. rough – smooth
85. south – north
86. spend – save
87. start – finish
88. stationary – movable
89. sweet – sour
90. swift – slow
91. take – give
92. tall – short
93. come – go
94. complete – incomplete
95. condemn – praise
96. conquer – fail
97. contract – expand
98. cool – warm
99. country – city
100. high – low
101. him – her
102. hit – miss
103. crooked – straight
104. cruel – kind
105. dangerous – safe
106. dark – light
107. daughter – son
108. day – night
109. dead – alive
110. death – life
111. deep – shallow
112. depart – arrive
113. destroy – create
114. different – same
115. friend-enemy
116. from – to
117. front – back
118. gain – loss
119. gather – scatter
120. generous – stingy
121. genuine – fake
122. fancy – plain
123. fat – skinny
124. fat – thin
125. fertile – barren
126. few – many
127. fiction – fact
128. find – lose
129. finish – begin
130. first – last
131. floor – ceiling
132. give – take
133. graceful – clumsy
134. grin – frown
135. guilty – innocent
136. happy – sad
137. wild – tame
138. win – lose
139. winter – summer
140. work – play
141. worthless – valuable
142. wrong – right
143. yes – no
144. young – old
145. fail – succeed
146. fall – spring
147. hard – soft
148. harmony – discord
149. harsh – mild
150. healthy – sick
151. length – width
152. less – more
153. rural – urban
154. sane – insane
155. seldom – often
156. selfish – unselfish
157. send – receive
158. together – apart
159. top – bottom
160. tough – tender
161. triumph – fail
162. true – false
163. ugly – pretty
164. unbreakable – fragile
165. under – over
166. unique – ordinary
167. up – down
168. useful – useless
169. usually – rarely
170. vacant – occupied
171. vanish – appear
172. victory – defeat
173. dirty – clean
174. discourage – encourage
175. disgrace – honor
176. dwarf – giant
177. early – late
178. East – West
179. easy – hard
180. empty – full
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Antonymy
is a type of paradigmatic relations based on polarity of meaning.
Antonyms
(Gr. antí
‘against,’
ónyma
‘name’)
are two or more words of the same language belonging to the same part
of speech and to the same semantic field, identical in style and
nearly identical in distribution, associated and often used together
so that their denotative meanings render contrary or contradictory
notions.
For
the analysis of the semantic continuum where synonyms and antonyms
interplay, one can use the ‘semiotic square’ model suggested by
Algirdas Greimas, a Lithuanian-born linguist and semiotician who laid
the foundations for the Paris School of Semiotics
and is
considered, along with Roland Barthes, the most prominent of the
French semioticians.
According
to the character of semantic opposition:
Antonyms
proper
(contrary antonyms) are antonyms which possess the following
characteristics:
-they
are gradable, i.e. there are some intermediate units between the most
distant members of a set, e.g. cold
– cool – tepid – warm – hot;
never
– seldom – sometimes – often – always;
-they
are capable of comparison, e.g. good
– better – best
vs. bad
– worse – worst;
-they
can be modified by such intensifiers as very,
slightly,
extremely,
fairly,
rather
etc., e.g. huge
– very big – BIG – quite big – medium-sized – quite small –
SMALL – very small – tiny;
-they
do not deny one another, e.g. She
is not beautiful
≠She
is ugly;
-they
refer not to independent absolute qualities but to some implicit
norm, e.g. a
big mouse
vs a
small elephant.
Contradictory
antonyms
(complementary antonyms) are mutually opposed (exclusive) and deny
one another, e.g. male
– female;
married
– single;
asleep
– awake;
same
– different.
Their features:
-not
gradable;
-truly
represent oppositeness of meaning;
-cannot
be used in the comparative or superlative degree;
-the
denial of one member of such antonymic opposition always implies the
assertion of the other, e.g. not
dead – alive.
Conversive
antonyms
(conversives) are words which denote one and the same situation as
viewed from different points of view, with a reversal of the order of
participants and their roles, e.g. husband
– wife;
teacher
– pupil;
to
buy – to sell;
to
lend – to borrow;
to
precede – to follow.
These antonyms are mutually dependent on each other and one item
presupposes the other.
Vectorial
antonyms
(directional antonyms) are words denoting differently directed
actions, features, e.g. to
rise – to fall;
to
arrive – to depart;
to
marry – to divorce;
to
learn – to forget;
to
appear – to disappear.
Morphological
classification of antonyms by V. N. Komissarov (Dictionary
of English Antonyms):
root
antonyms
(absolute antonyms) are antonyms having different roots, e.g. clean
– dirty;
late
– early;
day
– night;
derivational
antonyms are
antonyms having the same root but different affixes, e.g. to
fasten – to unfasten;
flexible
– inflexible;
useful
– useless.
32. Grammatical and lexical valency. Grammatical and lexical context.
The
appearance of words in a certain syntagmatic succession with
particular logical, semantic, morphological and syntactic relations
is called collocability or valency.
Valency
is viewed as an aptness
or potential
of a word to have relations with other words in language. Valency can
be grammatical and lexical.
Collocability
is an
actual use
of words in particular word-groups in communication.
Lexical
valency
is the aptness of a word to appear in various collocations, i.e. in
combinations with other words.
The
lexical valency of correlated words in different languages is not
identical. Both the E.
plant
and
Ukr.
рослина
may
be combined with a number of words denoting the place where the
flowers are grown, e.g. garden
plants,
hot-house
flowers,
etc. (cf. Ukr.
садові
рослини,
оранжерейні
рослини,
etc.).
The English word, however, cannot enter into combination with the
word room
to
denote plants growing in the rooms (cf. pot
plants
—
кімнатні
рослини).
The
interrelation of lexical valency and polysemy:
-the
restrictions of lexical valency of words may manifest themselves in
the lexical meanings of the polysemantic members of word-groups, e.g.
heavy,
adj. in the meaning ‘rich and difficult to digest’ is combined
with the words food,
meals, supper,
etc., but one cannot say *heavy
cheese
or *heavy
sausage;
-different
meanings of a word may be described through its lexical valency, e.g.
the different meanings of heavy,
adj. may be described through the word-groups heavy
weight
/ book
/ table;
heavy
snow
/ storm
/
rain;
heavy
drinker
/ eater; heavy
sleep
/ disappointment
/
sorrow;
heavy
industry
/ tanks,
and so on.
From
this point of view word-groups may be regarded as the characteristic
minimal lexical sets that operate as distinguishing clues for each of
the multiple meanings of the word.
Grammatical
valency
is the aptness of a word to appear in specific grammatical (or rather
syntactic) structures. Its range is delimited by the part of speech
the word belongs to. This is not
to imply that grammatical valency of words belonging to the same part
of speech is necessarily identical, e.g.
-the
verbs suggest
and propose
can be followed by a noun (to
propose
or suggest
a plan /
a
resolution);
however, it is only propose
that can be followed by the infinitive of a verb (to
propose to do smth.);
-the
adjectives clever
and intelligent
are seen to possess different grammatical valency as clever
can be used in word-groups having the pattern: Adj. + Prep.
at +
Noun
(clever
at mathematics),
whereas intelligent
can never be found in exactly the same word-group pattern.
-The
individual meanings of a polysemantic word may be described through
its grammatical valency, e.g.
—
keen
+
N
as
in
keen sight ‘sharp’;
keen +
on + N
as
in
keen on sports
‘fond of’;
keen +
V(inf)
as
in
keen to know ‘eager’.
Lexical
context
determines lexically bound meaning; collocations with the
polysemantic words are of primary importance, e.g. a
dramatic change / increase / fall / improvement;
dramatic events / scenery;
dramatic
society;
a
dramatic gesture.
In
grammatical context
the grammatical (syntactic) structure of the context serves to
determine the meanings of a polysemantic word, e.g. 1) She
will make a good teacher. 2)
She will make some tea. 3)
She will make him obey.
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Definition of Antonym
An antonym is a semantic term for words that have opposite meanings or definitions. To simply put it, an antonym is an opposite of another word. The term “antonym” has been derived from a Greek word antonumia, which means counter name.
It is, in fact, a sense relation or binary relationship between words that have opposite or contradictory meanings. For instance, in the sentence, “You forget what you want to Remember and you Remember what you want to forget” (The Road, by Cormac McCarthy), the underlined words “forget” and “remember” are opposites to one another. In other words, they are antonyms of one another.
Difference Between Antonym and Synonym
Antonyms are pairs of words that have opposite meanings, such as: night-day, bright-dull, and wet-dry. Synonyms, on the other hand, are a group of words having similar meanings. Most words have synonyms. Verbs, nouns, prepositions, adjectives, and adverbs have synonyms, provided they belong to the same parts of speech.
Types of Antonym
There are three types of antonym, which are:
- Graded Antonyms – Graded antonyms use words having variations between two opposites. For instance, the words “big” and “little” are opposite; however, they can use a variety of other words with opposite meanings such as:
- Big, bulky, full-size, huge / petite, slight, and little
- Smart, clever, canny, bright / stupid, dim, obtuse, foolish, unwise
- Happy, pleased, joyful, ecstatic / sad, gloomy, dejected, miserable
- Healthy, vigorous, fit, strong / sick, unwell, ill, ailing
- Relational or Converse Antonyms – Relational antonyms use word pairs having a close relationship in which each word cannot exist without the other, or one word has only a single relational opposite. For example:
- Front-back
- Open-close
- Husband-wife
- Hello-goodbye
- Complimentary Antonyms – Complimentary antonyms use word pairs that are absolute opposites. They can independently exist without each other, such as a daughter is not the complimentary opposite of a son in the family. Similarly girls can exist without their complimentary opposites, boys. Some of these are given below:
- True-false
- Dead-alive
- Male-female
- On-off
- Daughter-son
- Yes-no
Examples of Antonyms in Literature
Example #1: The Plain Man and His Wife (by Arnold Bennett)
“If you ask me whom I mean by the plain man, my reply is that I mean almost every man. I mean you. I certainly mean me. I mean… the successful and the unsuccessful, the idle and the diligent, the luxurious and the austere.”
This is a good example of graded antonyms, as “successful” is opposite to “unsuccessful,” while “idle” is opposite to “diligent,” and “luxurious” is exactly opposite to “austere.”
Example #2: The World As I See It (by Albert Einstein)
“Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.”
The above example has used the graded antonyms “inner” and “outer,” “give” and “received,” and complimentary antonyms “living” and “dead.”
Example #3: Hamlet (by William Shakespeare)
“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the Night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
In this excerpt, Shakespeare has used graded antonyms “night” and “day,” and absolute or complimentary antonyms “living” and “dead.”
Example #4: A Tale of Two Cities (by Charles Dickens)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”
Dickens has beautifully used antonyms in this passage. “Best” is opposite to “worst,” “wisdom” is opposite to “foolishness,” and likewise “belief” and “incredulity,” “light” and “darkness,” “hope” and “despair” are all graded antonyms.
Function of Antonym
The function of antonyms, in both speech and writing, is important because they highlight or emphasize the main idea of a text or speech. In literature, antonyms are used in different literary devices such as in synecdoche and paradox. These devices make some features of a character, or some quality in a person prominent. Antonyms also are helpful tools in narration, argumentation, description, and explanation. Antonyms also play an important role in language acquisition.
It is difficult to find antonyms for words. What are antonyms and examples of their enrichment of the Russian language. What is the antonym
Antonyms are words that are different in sound and have opposite meanings: lie is true, evil is kind, to be silent is to speak. Examples of antonyms show that they refer to the same part of speech.
Antonymy in Russian is presented much narrower than synonymy. This is due to the fact that only words enter into antonymic relations that are related in terms of quality (good — bad, native — alien, smart — stupid, thick — rare, high — low), temporary (day — night, early — late), quantitative (the only one — multiple, many — few), spatial (spacious — close, large — small, wide — narrow, high — low) signs.
There are antonymic pairs denoting the names of states, actions. Examples of antonyms of this kind: rejoice — grieve, cry — laugh.
Types and examples of antonyms in Russian
In terms of structure, antonyms are divided into different roots (morning — evening) and one-root (go in — go out). The opposite of meaning for single-root antonyms is caused by prefixes.
However, it should be remembered that the addition to adverbs and prefixes without-, not— in most cases, attaches to them the meaning of a weakened opposite (high — low), so the contrast of their values turns out to be «muted» (low — this does not mean «low»).
Based on this, not all prefix formations can be attributed to antonyms, but only those that are the extreme points of the lexical paradigm: strong — powerless, harmful — harmless, successful — unsuccessful.
Antonyms, as well as synonyms, are closely related to ambiguity: empty — serious (conversation); empty — full (cup); empty — expressive (look); empty — meaningful (story). Examples of antonyms show that different meanings of the word «empty» are included in different antonymic pairs. Unambiguous words, as well as words with specific meanings (iambic, pencil, desk, notebook, etc.) cannot have antonyms.
Among the antonyms, there is also the phenomenon of enantiosemia — this is the development of mutually exclusive, opposite meanings of some ambiguous words: to carry (to the room, to bring) — to carry (from the room, to take away); abandoned (phrase just spoken) — abandoned (abandoned, forgotten). The meaning in such cases is specified in the context. Often, enantiosemia is the cause of the ambiguity of certain expressions. Examples of antonyms of this kind: he listened to the report; the director looked at these lines.
Contextual antonyms: examples and definition
Contextual antonyms are words opposed in a specific context: moonlight — sunlight; not a mother, but a daughter; one day — all life; wolves are sheep. The polarity of the meanings of such words in the language is not fixed, and their opposition is an individual author’s decision. The writer in such cases reveals the opposite qualities of various concepts and contrasts them in speech. However, these pairs of words are not antonyms.
Antonyms are words, belonging to the same part of speech, differing in spelling and sound, and meaning directly opposite concepts.
One part of speech is not the only condition under which words of the opposite meaning can be called antonyms. There must be some common feature between these words. That is, both concepts should describe feeling, or time, or space, or quality and quantity — in which case they will be antonyms.
Examples of antonyms
Let’s analyze this definition with examples.
Antonym for the word «Before»
The antonym for the word «before» will be the word «now»… Both words are adverbs — “when? before ”and“ when? now». Both of them are united by a common feature — the description of time. But if the word «before» describes a situation or event that took place sometime in the past, then the word «now» refers to the present. Thus, the words are opposite in meaning and are antonyms.
Antonym for the word «Friendly»
The antonym for the word «friendly» is the word «Unfriendly»… Both concepts refer to one part of speech — the adverb. As the rule requires, they are united by a common feature — that is, they describe an emotional shade. But if the word «friendly» means joy and pleasure (for example, from someone’s presence), then «unfriendly» has the exact opposite meaning — the one whose appearance or speech is characterized by this word is clearly not happy about anything.
Antonym for the word «Tears»
The antonym for the word «tears» will be the word «laughter». Both concepts refer to nouns, both of which describe an emotional action. But if in the first case the emotion is clearly negative — tears of grief, tears of sadness, tears of pain — then the word «laughter» means joy, happiness and fun. Words are opposite in meaning — and therefore they are antonyms.
Other popular antonyms
Below is a list of words and their antonyms.
- The word «Synonym», the antonym is «Antonym».
- The word «Interesting», the antonym — «Boring».
- The word «Wind», the antonym — «Quiet».
- The word «Find», the antonym — «Lose».
- The word «Fresh», the antonym — «Spoiled, stale.»
- The word «Beautiful», the antonym — «Disgusting, terrible.»
- The word «Snow», the antonym — «Rain».
- The word «Waited», the antonym — «Sudden, unexpected».
- The word «Carefully», the antonym — «Careless».
- The word «Sun», the antonym — «Moon».
- The word «Day», the antonym — «Night».
- The word «Fast», the opposite is «slow».
We hope you now know what an antonym is.
How nice it is to see and listen to an interesting person. I always admire people who know the word. I hope you share my opinion.
There are very few sources of quality language in our children’s environment today. Just very little.
Which exit? This environment must be created. I already talked about this in an article about the theatrical activities of children. Word games give good results for the mind and speech. ,for example, when we are looking for a word that is opposite in meaning to the given one, thinking is accelerated.
An antonym is a word that is the opposite of a given one in meaning.
For preschoolers, the expression «enemy words» is more understandable. But you can introduce the concept of «antonyms to the word.» I usually tell the kid: “Now we will look for the“ enemy words ”. They are also called «antonyms». You will learn this word at school. So remember, it will still be useful to you. «
Believe the experience, the preschooler will definitely try to remember and flaunt in front of his friends and parents. Sometimes this can be explained to schoolchildren, if the search for antonyms is news to them. And these are not only first grade students.
The game. Finish the sentence and name the «enemy words»
Instruction. «You and I will come up with proposals: I will come up with a beginning, and you will come up with an end.»
- the mosquito is small, and the elephant;
- the fluff is light, but the stone;
- mustard is bitter and sugar;
- the bush is low, and the tree;
- the compote is cold, and the soup;
- thick sour cream, and milk;
- narrow brook, river;
- it is dark at night and during the day;
- sugar is sweet and lemon;
- walk with their feet and throw;
- the kindergarten is close, but the school;
- the tape is narrow and the belt;
- the stream is shallow and the lake;
- the lark sings, and the crow;
- the plane flies high, and the helicopter;
- the turtle crawls slowly, the hare gallops;
- there is a lot of water in a saucepan, but in a glass;
- the buyer buys and the seller;
- hot in summer and winter;
- they have breakfast in the morning, and at noon;
- salt is salted, and sugar;
- the children are responsible, and the educator;
- children leave kindergarten in the evening, and in the morning;
- fruits grow on the tree, and in the garden;
- flowers appear on trees in spring, and in autumn;
- get out of bed in the morning, and in the evening;
- the skyscraper is tall, and the hut;
- birds fly and snakes;
- they dine at noon, and in the evening;
- the viewer watches the movie and reads the book;
- there is dirt on the street, but in the house;
- the trunk of the tree is thick, and the twig.
- pencil draws and eraser
The game. Say the opposite
Instruction. «I will tell you a word, and you say the other way around» (give an example)
night -; breakfast -; evening -; enemy -; cleanliness -; cold -; war -; grass -; earth -; movement -; talker -; health -.; mind — | enter -; be silent -; gave -; get up -; undress -; raise -; laugh -; turn on -; close -; come -; appear -; eat -. | large -; black -; low -; bad -; sick -; old -; young -; wide -; thick -; narrow -; complex -; dry — .; bitter — |
Words with the opposite meaning are absent in the dictionary even of high school students. Therefore, the search for antonyms is currently relevant until the graduation class.
Learning how to search for antonyms for a word for both preschoolers and schoolchildren should start with a simple one. Schoolchildren may resent the simplicity. Explain to warm up. Complicate: answer directly «in flight». Typically, guys with limited vocabulary already have a loser complex. By immediately proposing complex (for example, abstract) words, you can get a complete rejection of classes.
Semantic opposites in verses
It’s time for you and me to Play the game «On the contrary». I will say the word High, and you will answer:
Low.
I will say the word Far away, and you will answer:
(close).
I will say the word Ceiling, and you will answer:
(floor).
I will say the word Lost. And you say:
(found).
I will tell you the word Coward, You will answer:
(brave man).
Now the Beginning I will say, — Well, answer:
(end) (D. Chiardi)
I do not like the word «heat», I’m in the river, in the thick shade And in bottles of lemonade, And my name?
(Cool)
An enemy of the word «laughter». Not from joy, pleasures, I happen against my will And from happiness, and from pain, From resentment, failure. Have you guessed? — It
Source: https://apriori-nauka.ru/profilaktika/podobrat-antonimy-k-slovam-slozhnyi-chto-takoe-antonimy-i-primery.html
What are antonyms in Russian? Examples of words
Antonyms — these are words of the same part of speech with the opposite meaning. Let us indicate examples of antonyms that are words of different parts of speech.
The concept of antonyms
The variety and richness of the vocabulary of the Russian language create synonyms, antonyms, paronyms and homonyms. To find out what the linguistic term «antonyms» means, let us turn to its origin. This word is made up of the Greek prefix anti-, which means «against,» and the word «onyma» is «name.» As a result, we get the meaning of the word «antonym» — «opposite name».
Let us give a precise definition of this term.
Definition
Antonyms — these are words of the same part of speech with the opposite lexical meaning.
And here is the definition of what antonyms are given by Wikipedia:
Antonyms (Old Greek ἀντι- prefix with the meaning of the opposite + ὄνομα «name») — these are words of the same part of speech, different in sound and spelling, having directly opposite lexical meanings, for example: «truth» — «lie», «kind» — «evil», «speak» — «be silent.»
Antonyms, unlike synonyms, have exactly the opposite lexical meaning:
- smart — stupid;
- day Night;
- cordially — hostile.
Antonyms, as a rule, are words of the same part of speech that answer the same question. They characterize an object, feature or phenomenon from the same side, pointing to the same quality, but the opposite in meaning. These words make up antonymic pairs.
Word examples
Here are examples of antonyms belonging to different parts of speech.
Nouns-antonyms
- sunrise — sunset;
- good evil;
- morning evening;
- peace is war;
- fire water;
- a hard worker is a slacker;
- summer Winter;
- friend — enemy;
- sadness is joy;
- chatterbox — silent;
- courage is cowardice.
Adjectives-antonyms
- dirty — clean;
- brave — cowardly;
- loud — quiet;
- wide narrow;
- thick — thin;
- long short;
- strong — weak;
- high Low;
- feminine — masculine;
- light dark;
- distant — close.
Verbs-antonyms
- to be silent — to speak;
- run — stand;
- to rejoice — to be upset;
- it got dark — dawn;
- to scold — to praise;
- take — give;
- build — break;
- protect — offend;
- get wet — dry.
Adverbs-antonyms
- in winter — in summer;
- in the morning — in the evening;
- on foot — running;
- interesting — boring;
- early late;
- in front — behind;
- always — never;
- here — there;
- deep — shallow.
What do antonyms mean?
After observing the antonyms, we will find out that they express different relationships:
1.temporal
- end — beginning;
- during the day — at night;
- early — late;
2.spatial
- far close;
- left right;
- inside Outside;
3.high quality
- love is hate;
- anger is kindness;
- cheerful — sad;
- young — old;
4.quantitative
- a lot — a little;
- excess — lack;
- expensive — cheap.
Single root antonyms
In the vocabulary of the Russian language, pairs of antonyms with different roots and one-root antonyms are distinguished. A pair of single-root antonyms are words that have the same root in the morphemic composition, but differ in opposite prefixes:
- to carry — to bring;
- insert — expose;
- to run away — to resort;
- undress — get dressed;
- close — open;
- guess — guess.
Single-root antonyms are created by the prefix non-:
- cheerful — unhappy look;
- close — not a short way;
- loud — quiet whisper;
- simple is not an easy task;
- few — many questions.
The meaning of antonyms in speech
Antonyms make our speech more imaginative and vivid.
Opposition helps to tell figuratively about completely opposite phenomena, to draw pictures of the world around that are unlike each other, to highlight one quality of an object against the background of another comparable to it, to convey more fully and accurately the feelings and experiences of people.
These words enrich any utterance, as they clarify the meaning of the words. Thanks to antonyms, speech becomes expressive, beautiful and accurate. To be convinced of this, let’s observe the statements of thinkers and famous writers.
From a bad beginning and the end is bad (Euripides).
Joys are forgotten, but sorrows — never (M. Yu. Lermontov).
To love good, you need to hate evil with all your heart (F. Wolf).
Both evil and good — everyone receives a reward for their actions (J. Goethe).
Antonyms in proverbs
There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped.
Prepare the sleigh in the summer and the cart in the winter.
You don’t know where you will find it, and where you will lose it.
Not salted on the table, salted on the back.
They are greeted by their clothes, they are escorted by their minds.
The truth in the fire does not burn and does not sink in the water.
The well-fed does not understand the hungry.
The morning is wiser than the evening.
Talk less and do more.
At first it is thick, but at the end it is empty.
A foolish person is looking for a place, but a reasonable one can be seen in the corner.
White bread will be born on the black earth.
He who knows a lot sleeps a little.
They did it early, but galloped late.
A full ear tilts to the ground, and an empty ear stretches to the sky.
Contextual antonyms
Words can enter into antonymic relations depending on the meaning of the context. Such words become antonyms in a certain message at the will of its author.
Contextual antonyms clarify the writer’s thought, make it figurative and help to create a complete description of the described phenomenon or object.
With their help, it is possible to express the ultimate opposition between the considered phenomena of reality, the qualities of objects, the feelings of people. Contextual antonyms are volumetric and accurately express the author’s assessment of the depicted.
They got along. Wave and stone, poetry and prose, ice and fire are not so different from each other (A.S. Pushkin).
Phraseologisms-antonyms
Antonyms can be not only individual words, but also phrases and turns of speech. Stable phrases, phraseological units, can have the opposite meaning, that is, they are antonyms.
Examples
- in all shoulder blades — at a snail’s pace;
- work up your sleeves — work carelessly;
- chickens do not bite — the cat cried;
- word for word — written on the water with a pitchfork;
- a stone’s throw from here — at the devil’s place;
- seven spans in the forehead — without a king in the head;
- to fight off from hands — to pick up;
- keep a stone in your bosom — with an open mind;
- sit back — work tirelessly;
- keep your ears open — count the crows;
- sharpen the fringes — collect water in your mouth;
- to sit on someone else’s neck — to live with your hump;
- from board to board — from the fifth to the tenth.
lesson
Source: https://russkiiyazyk.ru/leksika/antonimy-primery-slov.html
Antonyms are adjectives examples of words. What is Antonym? Examples. Verbs-antonyms: examples of words in Russian
Synonyms are words belonging to the same part of speech, different in spelling and pronunciation, but similar in lexical name (cheerful — joyful). Antonyms are words belonging to the same part of speech, different in spelling and pronunciation, with directly opposite lexical meanings. (funny — sad). Synonymous nouns: fun is joy, moon is month, doctor is doctor. Nouns-antonyms: minus — plus, evil — good, heat — cold.
Nouns are a group of words that give names to people, objects, abstract concepts, natural phenomena, etc. Nouns answer the questions who? or what? Among the nouns, various subgroups are distinguished according to the meaning of words. Among such subgroups are synonyms and antonyms.
What are synonyms and antonyms
Synonyms are words whose meaning is very similar. At the same time, words sound and are spelled differently and have nothing in common. For example, trouble and sorrow, doctor and doctor. These words have exactly the same meanings and can be used in the same situations. Such synonyms are called absolute.
In addition to absolute, there are partial synonyms. For example hot and hot. When describing the weather, we can say both «hot weather» and «hot weather», but with the word «tea» we can only put «hot tea». «Hot» in this case will sound silly.
Also, synonyms can be a word and a phrase. For example, morning is the beginning of the day. In this case, one word «morning» can be replaced by two words without losing the meaning.
Synonyms are used when in the text it is necessary to avoid the constant use of the same words.
Antonyms are words with the opposite meaning. Unlike synonyms, antonyms can have completely different spellings, but they can also be single-root words. The former include the words «black» and «white». The second is the example of «truth» and «untruth».
It is also worth mentioning that synonyms form a synonymous series, in which there can be an unlimited number of words. For example, nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, nonsense Antonyms form only pairs: heavy — light, kind — evil, strong — weak.
Examples of synonyms and antonyms
To better understand the difference between synonyms and antonyms, consider a few examples:
- day — night — words could be considered synonyms, because they denote part of the day, but these are antonyms, since day is the light part, night is the dark part;
- lake — pond — synonyms. There is a difference between a lake and a pond, but these bodies of water are very similar and the words are synonymous;
- space — the universe — synonyms;
- noise — silence — antonyms.
Antonyms are words that belong to the same part of speech, differ in sound and spelling, and have exactly the opposite meaning. Belonging to one part of speech is not the only condition according to which words that have an opposite in meaning can be called antonyms; there must be a common feature between such words, for example, when both concepts describe feeling, time, space, quantity, quality, etc.
Source: https://dark-lore.ru/rasteniya-i-zhivotnye/antonimy-prilagatelnye-primery-slov-chto-takoe-antonim-primery/
Synonyms, antonyms and homonyms
- Synonyms
- Words put on and put on
- Antonyms
- Homonyms
Synonyms — these are words related to the same part of speech, different in sound and spelling, but denoting the same thing. For example:
sweet — sugar
the sun is a star
Words that are close in meaning form synonymous row:
cheat, lie, cheat, cheat
In a number of synonyms, all words refer to one part of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs), but differ in shades of meaning. For example:
wet, wet, wet
All words are adjectives and call the same feature of an object — not dry. Each word has its own shade of meaning:
wet — slightly damp, not completely dry
wet — slightly wet, very wet
wet — completely saturated with water
Synonyms can be not only separate words, but also stable phrases (phraseological units):
deceive — lead by the nose
Words put on and put on
Words clothe и put on are not synonyms and cannot replace each other in speech.
Dress up can only someone or something, for example:
dress a doll, dress a child
I dressed the doll in a beautiful dress. I need to dress my daughter.
Put on you can only do something on yourself or on someone (for something), for example:
put on a suit, put on a ring
I put a beautiful dress on the doll. You need to put a ring on your daughter’s finger.
To make it easier to remember the difference between clothe и put on the following sentence can be used:
Put on clothes, put on Hope.
Antonyms
Antonyms — these are words that refer to the same part of speech, but have the opposite meaning. For example:
far close
a lot — a little
sunny — cloudy
Antonyms can also be single-root words, the opposite meaning in this case is usually created by negative prefixes: not-, without-, anti-, counter-. For example:
happy — unhappy
joyful — joyless
virus — antivirus
attack — counterattack
come — leave
Homonyms — these are words related to the same part of speech, the same in sound and spelling, but completely different in lexical meaning. For example:
Boxer — dog breed.
Boxer — a boxing person.
The lexical meaning of homonyms can be distinguished only in context, that is, in phrases and sentences, since a separate word does not allow determining its meaning:
paint brush — hand brush
Homonyms are divided into complete and incomplete. Complete homonyms — these are words of one part of speech, the same sound and spelling, but have different meanings. Examples of full homonyms are given above. There are three types of incomplete homonyms in Russian: homographs, homophones and homoforms.
- Homographs — these are words of one part of speech, differing in stress, that is, different in pronunciation and meaning. For example:
castle with large windows — a reliable lock
- Homophones — these are words of the same part of speech, differing in spelling and meaning, but having the same pronunciation. For example:
ball — point, ghost — cast
- Omoforms — these are words of different parts of speech, having the same spelling and pronunciation, but differing in meaning. For example:
Russian oven (noun) — to bake pies (also:)
sharp saw (noun) — drank tea with cookies (also)
Source: https://naobumium.info/russkiy/sinonimy.php
Antonyms give English writing meaning, and studying antonym examples will help you understand them better.
Antonyms are words in the English language that have opposite meanings. They can be nouns, adverbs, prepositions, or adjectives. The only rule is that the word must mean the opposite of another word, and if it does, it is an antonym.
Antonym is a word that comes from the combination of two Greek words. Anti means “opposite,” and onoma means “name.” Combining these into the word “antonym” means “opposite name,” or opposite meaning. The word antonym has its own antonym, the word synonym, which means words with the same meaning.
Understanding antonyms will help you create more engaging writing and give you a better understanding of English grammar. The best way to understand them is to study antonym examples so you can understand how these opposite words appear in your writing.
Before looking at specific types of antonyms, consider some basic antonym examples. These are opposites you probably already know, but learning how to spot them will teach you how to use antonyms in your writing.
- Accept and deny
- Add and subtract
- Agree and refuse
- Alive and dead
- Always and never
- Angel and devil
- Beautiful and ugly
- Better and worse
- Big and small
- Boring and amusing
- Ceiling and floor
- Cheap and expensive
- Child and adult
- Clean and dirty
- Dark and light
- Deep and shallow
- Defend and attack
- Depart and arrive
- Empty and full
- Enemy and friend
- Far and near
- Fast and slow
- Fat and thin
- Full and empty
- Gentle and violent
- Happy and sad
- Hot and cold
- In and out
- Kind and mean
- Last and first
- Lazy and active
- Low and high
- Marry and divorce
- Mess and order
- Moon and sun
- New and old
- Normal and odd
- Odd and even
- Optimist and pessimist
- Over and under
- Part and whole
- Plenty and lack
- Public and private
- Reduce and increase
- Reply and ask
- Rick and poor
- Safe and dangerous
- Same and different
- Stupid and smart
- True and false
- United and divide
- Vacant and occupied
- War and peace
- Water and land
You can also use a thesaurus to find new words that fit these patterns. For example, you could say warm and chilly instead of hot and cold. These are also antonyms.
Using Antonyms in Sentences
Creating a word list of opposite words is a fun activity for kids and English language learners, but antonyms can actually make your writing very rich. Adding contrasting words with different meanings to the same sentence can create a word picture. Consider this example sentence:
- She placed her freezing hands on the warm cup of cocoa.
You can instantly picture the scene here and the contrasting temperatures of the woman’s hands and the warm drink. In addition, this use of antonyms makes the imagery more vibrant in the sentence.
Four Types of Antonyms
Antonyms typically fall into one of four categories. Understanding these will help you spot some antonyms that may not be as obvious as others.
Complementary Antonyms
Complementary antonyms are mutually exclusive words that exist without depending on each other. For instance, daughter and son are considered complementary antonyms. This is because a family can have a daughter without having a son, but the two words are opposites.
Here are some more examples of complementary antonyms:
- Exit and entrance
- Treat and punishment
- Right and wrong
- Left and right
- Push and pull
- Boys and girls
- Man and woman
Relational Antonyms
Relational antonyms have a relationship with each other. This means the words can only exist together. This concept is a bit harder to understand, but here are some examples:
- Teacher and student
- Doctor and patient
- Husband and wife
- Parent and child
- Plug and socket
- Night and day
In each of these examples, you must have one to have the other. For example, you cannot have a student if you don’t have a teacher. Nor can you have a child if there wasn’t at one point a parent.
Sometimes relational antonyms have a relationship based on how they are used in the sentence. For example:
- The pan was warm. After a while, it became cool to the touch.
In this example, the pan must be warm before it could cool off, making these relational antonyms.
Graded Antonyms
Graded antonyms are adjective antonyms that can have adverbs in front that qualify the intensity of the word. For example, you could say that your airline tickets were expensive or cheap. Or, you could say that they were “very” cheap or “very” expensive.
Some examples of graded antonyms include:
- Bland and tasty
- Light and dark
- Interesting and boring
- Wet and dry
- Friendly or mean
Auto-antonym
The auto-antonym is one word with two different meanings, and one of the meanings is an opposite meaning of another. This type of antonym can also be called a contronym or Janus word.
The word clip is a good example of an auto-antonym. It can mean to attach something to another item, or it can mean to cut off. These meanings are opposite of each other, as these sentences show:
- Sarah clipped the note onto her backpack, so she would not forget it.
- Sarah clipped the signed portion of the permission slip to take back to her teacher.
Dust is another example of an auto-antonym. It can mean to remove a fine layer of particles off of a surface, or it can mean to add them. Here are example sentences that show these meanings:
- Johnathan will dust the cabinets before company comes.
- Johnathan will dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar.
Again, these two meanings are in contrast to one another. Other words that can be auto-antonyms include:
- Left: meaning “remaining” or “departed.”
- Plug: meaning “to fill a hole” or “to create a hole.”
- Sanction: meaning “to bless” or “to ban.”
- Awful: meaning “awe-inspiring” or “really bad.”
Making Antonyms with Prefixes
In addition to the four main types of antonyms, English writers can create antonyms by adding prefixes to words. The four prefixes that create antonyms are:
- Dis-
- Im-/in-
- Mis-
- Non-/un-
Here are some example word pairs that show how these prefixes create antonyms:
- Obedient and disobedient
- Comfortable and uncomfortable
- Tolerant and intolerant
- Possible and impossible
- Lead and mislead
- Understood and misunderstood
- Verbal and nonverbal
A Final Word on Antonym Examples
You can find examples of antonyms everywhere in the English language. These opposite words can help create interesting contrasts in your writing.
As you learn to use antonyms, don’t be afraid to grab the thesaurus, which lists both synonyms and antonyms to any word you’re considering. This tool will help you find the exact word that conveys your meaning and, in the case of antonyms, its opposite.
FAQs on Antonym Examples
What are synonyms and antonyms?
A synonym is a word that has a similar meaning to another word. For example, happy and joyful are synonyms. An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. For example, happy and sad are antonyms.
Both antonyms and synonyms work together to make writing more meaningful and memorable when you use them properly.
What are the types of antonyms?
The four types of antonyms are:
1. Auto-antonyms
2. Graded antonyms
3. Relative antonyms
4. Complementary antonyms
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Nicole Harms has been writing professionally since 2006. She specializes in education content and real estate writing but enjoys a wide gamut of topics. Her goal is to connect with the reader in an engaging, but informative way. Her work has been featured on USA Today, and she ghostwrites for many high-profile companies. As a former teacher, she is passionate about both research and grammar, giving her clients the quality they demand in today’s online marketing world.
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