Word meaning doing the opposite

Opposite Words in English PDF Download: A word that expresses meaning in opposition to the meaning of a certain word is known as an opposite word. The two words in this instance are referred to as antonyms of one another. Students should acquire as many antonyms and opposite terms as they can because this will help them expand their vocabulary and strengthen their command of the English language. «Opposite words» is an important topic in English Grammar. For competitive exams, in the reading comprehension topic or in the English language section, questions from the Opposite Words in English are common. These terms will be crucial to your academic development as well as the improvement of your reading and writing abilities. However, the list of opposite words in English a to z is provided below. The candidates in search of Antonyms/Opposite Words, frequently want to know about opposite words in English 20, opposite words in English list, words and opposite in English, opposite words in English 100, opposite words in English 10, opposite words in English a to z 200, opposite words in English a to z list, 100 opposite words in English, opposite words in English 20 PDF Download, 100 opposite words in English pdf download, 100 opposite words in English easy, etc., can refer to this article for more info.

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Opposite Words In English a-z

It is not possible for one individual to study the antonyms of every word in the English lexicon due to the scope of the topic «Opposite Words.» There are many opposite terms that we frequently use in our daily lives, but some of us might not be familiar with all of them. We have listed more than 1000 opposing terms in this post for your reference; browse through them and attempt to understand a few new words with opposing connotations. This article will teach you many of the opposing words used in English grammar, which will undoubtedly improve your vocabulary, especially if you’re getting ready for competitive exams like the Bank Exams, SSC Exams, UPSC, and others where you have to study for the English subject. Candidates aspiring to know all the z opposite words, 1000 opposite words in English, and opposite words in English a-z can read further.

Opposite Words In English a to z PDF Download

Candidates preparing for competitive exams can make use of the opposite words in English a to z PDF Download link provided below. With the help of opposite words in English a to z PDF Download link, aspirants can learn the opposite words easily and also they can download the PDF and take printouts if necessary. Make use of the opposite words in English a to z PDF Download link for effective preparation.

Opposite Words In English a to z PDF Download

Opposite Words In English List: Basic Words Antonyms

Here we have added the list of opposite words in English for the reference of the candidates. Below is a collection of some general and simple opposing words in English. Utilize these antonyms to expand your vocabulary in English. You can read the following general 100 opposite words in English easy here.

Opposite Words In English List: Basic Words Antonyms
Words	Antonyms In English
Absent	Present
After	Before
Active	Lazy
Brave	Afraid
Bitter	Sweet
Beginning	End
Blunt	Sharp
Big	Small / Little
Cheap	Expensive
Clean	Dirty
Close	Open
Deep	Shallow
Day	Night
Down	Up
Daughter	Son
Early	Late
Easy	Difficult / Hard
Enter	Exit
Far	Near / Close
Friend	Enemy
Fast	Slow
Fat	Thin / Skinny
Full	Empty
Good	Bad
Happy	Sad
Heavy	Light
Happy	Sad
Here	There
High	Low
Hot	Cold
In	Out
Inside	Outside
Interesting	Boring
Light	Dark
Long	Short
Loud	Soft
Many	Few
Male	Female
New	Old
Near	Far
Over	Under
Rich	Poor
Right	Left
Right	Wrong
Safe	Dangerous
Single	Married
Smooth	Rough
Soft	Hard
Strong	Weak
Tall	Short
Thick	Thin
Tight	Loose
Top	Bottom
Ugly	Beautiful
Vertical	Horizontal
Warm	Cool
Wet	Dry
Wide	Narrow
Young	Old
Yesterday	Tomorrow
Yes	No

Opposite Words In English a to z List

Here you can find out the opposite words in English in alphabetical order from a to z. 

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘A’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter A tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘A’

absent — present abundant — scarce accept — decline, refuse accurate — inaccurate admit — deny advantage — disadvantage against — for agree — disagree alive — dead all — none, nothing ally — enemy always — never ancient — modern answer — question antonym — synonym apart — together appear — disappear, vanish approve — disapprove arrive — depart artificial — natural ascend — descend attic — cellar attractive — repulsive awake — asleep

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘B’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter B tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘B’

backward — forward bad — good beautiful — ugly before — after begin — end below — above bent — straight best — worst better — worse, worst big — little, small bitter-sweet black — white blame — praise bless — curse bold — meek, timid borrow — lend bottom — top bound — unbound, free boundless — limited boy — girl brave — cowardly bright — dim, dull brighten — fade broad — narrow build — destroy

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘C’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter C tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘C’

calm — windy, troubled can — cannot, can’t capable — incapable captive — free careful — careless cheap — expensive cheerful — sad, discouraged, dreary clear — cloudy, opaque clever — stupid clockwise — counterclockwise close — far, distant closed — ajar, open clumsy — graceful cold — hot combine — separate come — go comfort — discomfort common — rare compulsory — voluntary conceal — reveal contract — expand cool — warm correct — incorrect, wrong courage — cowardice courteous — discourteous, rude create — destroy crooked — straight cruel — kind

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘D’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter D tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘D’

dangerous — safe dark — light day — night daytime — nighttime dead — alive decline — accept, increase decrease — increase deep — shallow definite — indefinite demand — supply despair — hope dim — bright disappear — appear discourage — encourage diseased — healthy down — up downwards — upwards dreary — cheerful dry — moist, wet dull — bright, shiny dusk — dawn

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘E’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter E tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘E’

early — late east-west easy — hard, difficult empty — full encourage — discourage end — begin, start enter — exit even — odd expand — contract export — import exterior — interior external — internal

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘F’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter F tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘F’

fade — brighten fail — succeed false — true famous — unknown far — near fast — slow fat — thin feeble — strong, powerful few — many find — lose first — last float — sink fold — unfold foolish — wise for — against fore — aft forget — remember fortunate — unfortunate found — lost free-bound, captive frequent — seldom fresh — stale friend — enemy full — empty

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘G’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter G tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘G’

generous — stingy gentle — rough get — give giant — tiny, small, dwarf girl — boy give — receive, take glad — sad, sorry gloomy — cheerful go — stop good — bad, evil grant — refuse great — tiny, small, unimportant grow — shrink guest — host guilty — innocent

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘H’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter H tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘H’

happy — sad hard — easy hard — soft harmful — harmless harsh — mild hate — love haves — have-nots healthy — diseased, ill, sick heaven — hell heavy — light help — hinder here — there hero — coward high — low hill — valley hinder — help honest — dishonest horizontal — vertical hot — cold humble — proud

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘I’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter I tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘I’

ill — healthy, well immense — tiny, small important — trivial in — out include — exclude increase — decrease inferior — superior inhale — exhale inner — outer inside — outside intelligent — stupid, unintelligent intentional — accidental interesting — boring interesting — dull, uninteresting interior — exterior internal — external

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘J’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter J tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘J’

join — separate junior — senior just — unjust justice — injustice

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘K’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter K tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘K’

knowledge — ignorance known — unknown

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘L’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter L tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘L’

landlord — tenant large — small last — first laugh — cry lawful — unlawful, illegal lazy — industrious leader-follower left — right lend -borrow lengthen — shorten lenient — strict less — more light — dark, heavy like — dislike, hate likely — unlikely limited — boundless little — big long — short loose — tight lose — find loss — win loud — quiet love — hate low — high loyal — disloyal

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘M’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter M tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘M’

mad — happy, sane major — minor many — few mature — immature maximum — minimum melt — freeze merry — sad messy — neat minor — major minority — majority miser — spendthrift misunderstand — understand more — less

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘N’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter N tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘N’

nadir — zenith narrow — wide near — far, distant neat — messy, untidy never — always new — old night — day nighttime — daytime no — yes noisy — quiet none — some north-south

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘O’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter O tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘O’

obedient — disobedient odd — even offer — refuse old — new old — young on — off open — closed, shut opposite- same, similar optimist — pessimist out — in outer — inner over — under

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘P’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter P tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘P’

past — present patient — impatient peace — war permanent — temporary plentiful — scarce plural — singular poetry — prose polite — rude, impolite possible — impossible poverty — wealth, riches powerful — weak pretty — ugly private — public prudent — imprudent pure — impure, contaminated push — pull

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘Q’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter Q tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘Q’

qualified — unqualified question — answer quiet — loud, noisy

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘R’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter R tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘R’

raise — lower rapid — slow rare — common real — fake regular — irregular rich — poor right — left, wrong right-side-up — upside-down rough — smooth rude — courteous

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘S’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter S tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘S’

safe — unsafe same — opposite satisfactory — unsatisfactory scatter — collect second-hand — new secure — insecure separate — join, together serious — trivial shallow — deep shrink — grow sick — healthy, ill simple — complex, hard singular — plural sink — float slim — fat, thick slow — fast sober — drunk soft — hard some — none sorrow — joy sour — sweet sow -reap start — finish stop-go straight — crooked strict — lenient strong — weak success — failure sunny — cloudy sweet — sour synonym — antonym

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘T’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter T tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘T’

take — give tall — short tame — wild them — us there — here thick — thin tight — loose, slack tiny — big, huge together — apart top — bottom tough — easy, tender transparent — opaque true — false truth — falsehood, lie, untruth

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘U’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter U tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘U’

under — over unfold — fold unknown — known unqualified — qualified unsafe — safe up — down upside-down — right-side-up upstairs — downstairs us — them useful — useless

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘V’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter V tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘V’

vacant — occupied vanish — appear vast — tiny victory — defeat virtue — vice visible — invisible voluntary — compulsory

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘W’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter W tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘W’

war — peace wax — wane weak — strong wet — dry white — black wide — narrow win-lose wisdom — folly, stupidity within — outside wrong — right

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘X’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter X tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘X’

Xenial — Inhospitable Xenophobic — Impartial Xeroxes — Original

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘Y’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter Y tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘Y’

yes — no yin — yang young — old

Opposite Words In English Starting With Letter ‘Z’

Aspirants can check the important opposite words in English starting with the letter Z tabulated below.

Opposite Words In English Starting With ‘Z’ / Z opposite words

zenith — nadir zip — unzip

Opposite Words In English Exercises

In the English language portion of numerous tests, including SSC (SSC CGL, CHSL, JE, etc.), UPSC (NDA, CDS, etc.), Banking, and more, candidates who are taking government examinations commonly encounter questions relating to antonyms/opposite words. The opposite words that are requested in the vocabulary part are more complex than the straightforward opposite terms mentioned before. A few significant questions from the perspective of competitive exams are presented below for practice using opposite words.

Choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word

Q1. Xenophobic

1. yang
2. Impartial
3. qualified
4. Original

Ans. (b)

Q2. Optimist

1. courteous
2. messy
3. pessimist
4. sink

Ans. (c)

Q3. Wisdom

1. folly
2. Impartial
3. always
4. courteous

Ans. (a)

Q4. Ally

1. enemy
2. together
3. repulsive
4. support

Ans. (a)

Q5. Scatter

1. disperse
2. Inhospitable
3. even
4. collect

Ans. (d)

Q6. Bless

1. blame
2. praise
3. curse
4. enjoy

Ans. (c)

Q7. Cheerful

1. Happy
2. dreary
3. Entertain
4. optimistic

Ans. (b)

Q8. Hinder 

1. trouble
2. help
3. disturbance
4. pessimistic

Ans. (b)

Q9. Calm

1. relax
2. satisfied
3. Righteous
4. Windy

Ans. (d)

Q10. Nefarious

1. Recuperate
2. Stupidity
3. Righteous
4. Sobriety

Ans. (c)

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FAQs — Opposite Words in the English Language

Q. What are the opposing words in English?

A word that expresses meaning in opposition to the meaning of a certain word is known as an opposite word. The two words in this instance are referred to as antonyms of one another.

Q. What is the opposite word of benefit?

Some of the opposite words of benefit are, disadvantage, hindrance, drawback, impediment, minus, liability, obstacle, etc.,

Q. What are the opposite words of kind?

The opposite words of kind are unkind, inconsiderate, mean, etc.,

Q. What are the opposite words of tall?

The opposite words of tall are short, small, low, etc.,

Q. What are the opposite words of fat?

The opposite words of fat are thin, skinny, etc.,

The English language is a mystery to many non-speakers. This is largely due to the contradictions within the language itself, such as English words that have opposite definitions despite being spelled the same way. If you’re an English speaker, you do not pay much attention to these things. But for English language learners, these types of words add to their confusion with the language.

Do you know what the words that are spelled similarly and have two different meanings are called? They are called contronyms. The simplest explanation is that they are words that have opposite meanings.

Several nyms comprise the English language. Words that mean the same thing are synonyms. Words that sound the same but have different spelling, such as pear and pair are homonyms. Antonyms are the opposite meaning of a word. Heteronyms are words spelled similarly but pronounced differently.

What is a contronym?

A contronym is one word that has opposite meanings, which depends on the context of its use. It seems illogical that one word can have two different meanings, which can be the exact opposite of the other at times. For example, the word cleave means to cling, to adhere or to stick to something or someone. But it can also mean to cut, to split or to separate.

A contronym has other names, too. Some people call it contronym while others refer to it as autoantonym. More descriptive terms include antilogy, self-antonym, enantiodrome and antagonym. There’s still another term that many people use to refer to contronyms – Janus words. It was derived from Janus, an Italian deity of old, said to be heaven’s doorkeeper whose head has two faces, one in front and one at the back.

Development of English words with opposite meanings

The English language continues to evolve, including its parts. People, especially native speakers of English use contronyms in their daily conversation, but it may be tricky for learners of the language.

Contronyms develop over time as a result of constant use. For example, according to its etymology, the word blunt used to mean obtuse (person) or dull (weapons, tools) when it was used from the 12^th century to the late 14^th century. But around the 1580s, it became a word to mean sharp, referring to abrupt manner or speech, which takes on the context of making an unceremoniously made or direct comment. Another example is the word bolt, an Old English term whose original meaning (as a verb) is to fix or fasten something. Centuries later, bolt is also used to mean spring into sudden action, which could have been derived from bolt (noun) that refers to a missile or projectile such as an arrow.

One vital thing for English language learners to remember is to understand the context in using a word so that they will not make the mistake of saying something that is contradictory to the intended meaning.

This knowledge is essential in interpretation and translation as well. If a contronym is used in a different context, it can distort the whole meaning of the conversation or a sentence. If you need translation or interpreting services, ensure that you collaborate with a professional and native-speaking translator or interpreter, so as to avoid these types of mistakes.

The development of contronyms is also due to pronunciation changes through the years. Let’s look at the word cleave again. It means to join together and to split apart. It came from two Old English words, cleofan (split apart, separate) and cleofian (also clifian, cliofian) (adhere, stick together). Through years of use, the two words started to sound the same and later merged to become cleave.

Here’s another interesting one. Let is a word that used to mean stop, delay, obstruct, impede. It came from the Old English term lettan. Another Old English word, lætan means to leave undone, leave behind, bequeath or to allow. The original words later formed the contronym, let.

In some cases, the difference is the variant of English one uses creates the contronyms. In a parliamentary procedure, to table a bill means that the bill could be discussed, considered or reconsidered in British English. In American English however, it means to suspend or postpone the consideration.

Examples of contronyms

If you love languages, you’ll have fun with contronyms. But for many people, it can be confusing. So instead of getting confused, here are some examples of contronyms, which could be words that you use every day or see often. You may not even realize that you are using them in two different contexts because you are so used to them.

1. Sanction is either to impose a penalty on something or give official approval or permission.
2. You use left when you mean someone or something is still remaining (this is what’s left of the bunch), but it can also be used to mean someone departed (left the party, group, team, etc.).
3. You dust the furniture to remove dirt. You can also dust, in the context of applying it, such as dusting a cake with powdered sugar.
4. When you seed a cucumber, you are removing its seeds. When you seed your lawn, you are adding  seeds (grass) to the soil.
5. Trim can mean to cut or remove irregularities or outgrowth (plants, trees) or reduce the length of your hair. But you can also use the word to mean embellishing or decorating something, such as a Christmas tree.
6. When you mean something or someone is moving rapidly, you say it or she/he is fast. In terms of fabric color, it means that the dye will not run. It can also mean something is unmoving or fixed.
7. Off, when used as an adjective can mean something is not in operation or is deactivated, such as the stove is off or the light is off. It can also mean activated (the alarm went off) as well. As an adverb, it can denote distance in relation to space and time (the dinghy is two kilometers off the shore) or moving from a position or place (drove off, went off to work, event is still two weeks off).
8. Weather is an atmospheric condition, but it could mean enduring, as in weathered the economic downturn, or worn away, just like weathered wood or rock.
9. You can either screen to hide or block out an ugly view or corner, or use it to mean show (film/movie), test or sort.
10. Clip can mean bind things together, such as sheets of paper. It can also mean to separate or cut away or a part, as in clip your fingernails, clip the wings.
11. Centuries back, flog meant to whip, cane or beat a person or animal. In today’s application, it is used as a sales term, as in persistently promote something (such as a book).
12. The word hold can either mean to support something or someone, but it can also mean hinder, arrest or confine.
13. When you say toss, it can either mean discarding something, but it can also mean suggesting (like toss out an idea).
14. The military term anabasis means military retreat as well as military advance.

Here are more contronyms for you to use:

• Aught (nothing, all)
• Chuffed (annoyed, pleased)
• Consult (give advice, seek advice)
• Custom (special, usual)
• Dollop (small amount, large amount)
• Enjoin (prohibit, prescribe)
• Garnish (curtail wages, enhance food)
• Give out (stop production, produce)
• Grade (level, incline)
• Handicap (disadvantage e.g. physical or mental condition, advantage)
• Mean (excellent, average)
• Put out (generate, extinguish)
• Strike (miss, hit)
• Transparent (obvious, invisible)
• Unbending (relaxing, rigid)
• Wind up (start up, end)
• Story (factual, untrue account)
• Scan (skim, scrutinize)
• Refrain (stop an action, repeat an action, e.g, song refrain)
• Oversight (close control and scrutiny, accidental error or omission)
• Overlook (place to see things from above, miss seeing things or details)
• Peruse (read in a cursory or casual way, go over something attentively)

Remember that when using contronyms, you have to be aware of the words’ context, to ensure that you are relaying the right message.

Assurance of right context and correct definitions

The job of a professional translator is to provide an accurate translation of a source document into any language, which also includes careful consideration of the context of the message to ensure its proper delivery. At Day Translations, Inc. we work only with native speakers, to ensure the quality of the language. Our translators live in-country, so they are not only fluent in the language, but they are also fully knowledgeable of the culture of their country. They are professionals with years of experience in language services.

We also have subject matter experts for specific translation needs. We see to it that all the translation projects we handle pass through our quality control process to make sure that ensure accuracy, appropriateness of terminology and proper context. For all your translation and interpreting needs, call Day Translations. We offer a full suite of language services so you only have to talk to one organization. We are available 24/7, 365 days of the year. You can reach us through 1-800-969-6853. You have the option to send us an email as well here: Contact us.

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In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is long entails that it is not short. It is referred to as a ‘binary’ relationship because there are two members in a set of opposites. The relationship between opposites is known as opposition. A member of a pair of opposites can generally be determined by the question What is the opposite of  X ?

The term antonym (and the related antonymy) is commonly taken to be synonymous with opposite, but antonym also has other more restricted meanings. Graded (or gradable) antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite and which lie on a continuous spectrum (hot, cold). Complementary antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite but whose meanings do not lie on a continuous spectrum (push, pull). Relational antonyms are word pairs where opposite makes sense only in the context of the relationship between the two meanings (teacher, pupil). These more restricted meanings may not apply in all scholarly contexts, with Lyons (1968, 1977) defining antonym to mean gradable antonyms, and Crystal (2003) warning that antonymy and antonym should be regarded with care.

General discussionEdit

Opposition is a semantic relation in which one word has a sense or meaning that negates or is, in the sense of scale, distant from a related word. Other words are capable of being opposed, but the language in question has an accidental gap in its lexicon. For example, the word devout lacks a lexical opposite, but it is fairly easy to conceptualize a parameter of devoutness where devout lies at the positive pole with a missing member at the negative pole. Opposites of such words can nevertheless sometimes be formed with the prefixes un- or non-, with varying degrees of naturalness. For example, the word undevout appears in Webster’s dictionary of 1828, while the pattern of non-person could conceivably be extended to non-platypus. Conversely, some words appear to be a prefixed form of an opposite, but the opposite term does not exist, such as inept, which appears to be in- + *ept; such a word is known as an unpaired word.

Opposites may be viewed as a special type of incompatibility.^[1] Words that are incompatible create the following type of entailment (where X is a given word and Y is a different word incompatible with word X):^[2]

sentence A is  X   entails  sentence A is not  Y  ^[3]

An example of an incompatible pair of words is cat : dog:

It’s a cat  entails  It’s not a dog ^[4]

This incompatibility is also found in the opposite pairs fast : slow and stationary : moving, as can be seen below:

It’s fast  entails  It’s not slow ^[5]

It’s stationary  entails  It’s not moving

Cruse (2004) identifies some basic characteristics of opposites:

• binarity, the occurrence of opposites as a lexical pair
• inherentness, whether the relationship may be presumed implicitly
• patency, the quality of how obvious a pair is

Some planned languages abundantly use such devices to reduce vocabulary multiplication. Esperanto has mal- (compare bona = «good» and malbona = «bad»), Damin has kuri- (tjitjuu «small», kuritjitjuu «large») and Newspeak has un- (as in ungood, «bad»).

Some classes of opposites include:

• antipodals, pairs of words which describe opposite ends of some axis, either literal (such as «left» and «right,» «up» and «down,» «east» and «west») or figurative or abstract (such as «first» and «last,» «beginning» and «end,» «entry» and «exit»)
• disjoint opposites (or «incompatibles»), members of a set which are mutually exclusive but which leave a lexical gap unfilled, such as «red» and «blue,» «one» and «ten,» or «Monday» and «Friday.»
• reversives, pairs of verbs which denote opposing processes, in which one is the reverse of the other. They are (or may be) performed by the same or similar subject(s) without requiring an object of the verbs, such as «rise» and «fall,» «accelerate» and «decelerate,» or «shrink» and «grow.»
• converses (or relational opposites or relational antonyms), pairs in which one describes a relationship between two objects and the other describes the same relationship when the two objects are reversed, such as parent and child, teacher and student, or buy and sell.
• overlapping antonyms, a pair of comparatives in which one, but not the other, implies the positive:
  • An example is «better» and «worse.» The sentence «x is better than y» does not imply that x is good, but «x is worse than y» implies that x is bad. Other examples are «faster» and «slower» («fast» is implied but not «slow») and «dirtier» and «cleaner» («dirty» is implied but not «clean»). The relationship between overlapping antonyms is often not inherent, but arises from the way they are interpreted most generally in a language. There is no inherent reason that an item be presumed to be bad when it is compared to another as being worse (it could be «less good»), but English speakers have combined the meaning semantically to it over the development of the language.

Types of antonymsEdit

An antonym is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings. Each word in the pair is the antithesis of the other. A word may have more than one antonym. There are three categories of antonyms identified by the nature of the relationship between the opposed meanings.

Gradable antonymsEdit

A gradable antonym is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings where the two meanings lie on a continuous spectrum. Temperature is such a continuous spectrum so hot and cold, two meanings on opposite ends of the spectrum, are gradable antonyms. Other examples include: heavy : light, fat : skinny, dark : light, young : old, early : late, empty : full, dull : interesting.

Complementary antonymsEdit

A complementary antonym, sometimes called a binary or contradictory antonym (Aarts, Chalker & Weiner 2014), is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings, where the two meanings do not lie on a continuous spectrum. There is no continuous spectrum between odd and even but they are opposite in meaning and are therefore complementary antonyms. Other examples include: mortal : immortal, exit : entrance, exhale : inhale, occupied : vacant.

Relational antonymsEdit

A relational antonym is one of a pair of words that refer to a relationship from opposite points of view. There is no lexical opposite of teacher, but teacher and pupil are opposite within the context of their relationship. This makes them relational antonyms. Other examples include: husband : wife, doctor : patient, predator : prey, teach : learn, servant : master, come : go, parent : child.

Auto-antonymsEdit

An auto-antonym is a word that can have opposite meanings in different contexts or under separate definitions:

• enjoin (to prohibit, issue injunction; to order, command)
• fast (moving quickly; fixed firmly in place)
• cleave (to split; to adhere)
• sanction (punishment, prohibition; permission)
• stay (remain in a specific place, postpone; guide direction, movement)

See alsoEdit

• -onym
• Antithesis
• Litotes
• Property (philosophy)
• Semantic differential
• Thesaurus

NotesEdit

BibliographyEdit

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