Antonym

An antonym is a term that represents the opposite of another word. For example, the antonym of ‘hot’ maybe ‘cold.’ The root words for the word ‘antonym’ are the words ‘anti,’ indicating ‘against’ or ‘opposite,’ and ‘eponym,’ indicating ‘name.’

To better learn about antonyms, let’s look at what the word ‘synonym’ implies. A synonym is a word that has a similar meaning to or the same meaning as another word. Synonyms and antonyms are exactly the opposite ones.

The Importance of Antonyms

To better know the meaning of a word, we can take a look at its antonym, or opposite meaning. For example, take the word ‘morose.’ The meaning of ‘morose’ is ‘gloomily or sullenly ill-humored.’ Sometimes, even reading a dictionary definition is not enough to give us a whole understanding of a word. Most dictionaries furnish synonyms and antonyms, as well.

For example, here are a few listed synonyms for the word ‘morose:’ ‘moody,’ ‘sour,’ ‘sulky.’ Also, here are a few antonyms: ‘cheerful’ and ‘optimistic.’ Now we understand that the opposite of ‘morose’ is cheerful and even optimistic! Taking a look at both the synonyms and antonyms supplies us with a more precise definition.

100 Antonyms for Everyday Vocabulary

Here, we mentioned 100 common antonyms that can be an amazing tool to improve your vocabulary and encourage meaningful conversations in English.

1. Artificial – Natural
2. Arrive – Depart
3. Argue – Agree
4. All – None
5. Amateur – Professional
6. Alive – Dead
7. Advanced – Elementary
8. Adult–Child
9. Ancestor – Descendant
10. Angel – Devil
11. Boy – Girl
12. Build – Destroy
13. Buy – Sell
14. Borrow – Lend
15. Body – Soul
16. Blunt – Sharp
17. Bitter – Sweet
18. Bottom – Top
19. Boring – Exciting
20. Busy – Lazy
21. Ceiling – Floor
22. Catch – Miss
23. Careful – Careless
24. Calm – Excited
25. Close – Open
26. Cold – Hot
27. Clear – Cloudy
28. Child – Adult
29. Certainly – Probably
30. Callous – Sensitive
31. Die – Live
32. Dictatorship – Republic
33. Dainty – Clumsy
34. Desperate – Hopeful
35. Divide – Unite
36. Domestic – Foreign
37. Distant – Near
38. Different – Alike
39. Drama – Comedy
40. Dull – Interesting
41. Emigration – Immigration
42. Empty – Full
43. Eager – Apathetic
44. Everything – Nothing
45. Evening – Morning
46. Even – Odd
47. Exclude – Include
48. Expensive – Cheap
49. Export-Import
50. Exit – Entrance
51. Foreground – Background
52. For – Against
53. Forbid – Allow
54. Flippant – Somber
55. Flat – Hilly
56. Future – Past
57. Frequently – Occasionally
58. Funny – Serious
59. Free- Dependent
60. Friend – Enemy
61. Gaiety – Misery
62. Give–Take
63. Guest – Host
64. Guilty – Innocent
65. Gentle – Violent
66. Gentleman – Lady
67. General – Particular
68. Grown-Up – Child
69. Good – Bad
70. Giant – Tiny
71. Heavy – Light
72. Heaven – Hell
73. Hopeful – Desperate
74. Health – Disease
75. Hate – Love
76. Harvest – Plant
77. Handsome – Ugly
78. Happy – Sad
79. High – Low
80. Here – There
81. Intentional – Accidental
82. Intelligent – Silly
83. Inside – Outside
84. Ignore – Notice
85. Increase – Reduce
86. Interrupt – Continue
87. Insult – Compliment
88. Ill – Healthy
89. Ignore – Notice
90. Import – Export
91. Loser – Winner
92. Lower – Higher
93. Marry – Divorce
94. Mend – Break
95. Midnight – Noon
96. Melt–Freeze
97. Negative – Affirmative
98. Native – Foreigner
99. Nasty – Nice
100. Narrow – Broad

Types of Antonyms

Since the English language is so complicated, people may disagree about which words truly have opposing meanings. Yet, there are three main kinds of antonyms.

Complementary Antonyms – Examples 

Complementary antonyms are the exact opposites that have no middle ground. For example, “off” is always the opposite of “on” — there’s no other option for its antonym.

Examples of complementary antonyms contain:

• off — on
• night — day
• entrance — exit
• exterior — interior
• true — false
• dead — alive
• push-pull
• pass-fail

Relational Antonyms – Examples

Relational antonyms represent opposite words as they relate to each other. One word can’t exist without the other word. For instance, a doctor with no patients can’t be a doctor; a predator with no prey is not a predator.

Other examples of relational antonyms contain:

• above — below
• servant — master
• borrow — lend
• give — receive
• buy — sell
• instructor — pupil

Graded Antonyms – Examples

Graded antonyms are based on levels of comparison, and they can be two words on a scale. Many are relative terms, which can be explained differently by different people. For example, “sad” and “happy” are relative antonyms, because someone can be rather sad or quite happy, or mildly sad and mildly happy.

Examples of graded antonyms contain:

• young — elderly
• hard — easy
• happy — wistful
• wise — foolish
• fat — slim
• warm-cool
• early — late
• fast — slow
• dark — pale

Examples of Antonyms Constructed With Prefixes

Sometimes you don’t require to search for another word altogether. It’s feasible to create an antonym simply by adding a prefix to the word, generally, prefixes that mean “not” or “without.”

Adding Dis-

Some examples of antonyms constructed by adding the prefix dis- (“away from”) are:

• agree — disagree
• appear — disappear
• belief — disbelief
• honest — dishonest

Adding In-

Adding the prefix in-, meaning “not,” can cause the following opposites:

• tolerant — intolerant
• decent — indecent
• discreet — indiscreet
• excusable — inexcusable

Adding Mis-

Using the prefix mis- (meaning “wrong”) makes antonyms such as:

• behave — misbehave
• interpret — misinterpret
• lead — mislead
• trust — mistrust

Adding Un-

Examples of antonyms created by adding the prefix un-, which means “not,” are:

• likely — unlikely
• able — unable
• fortunate — unfortunate
• forgiving — unforgiving

Adding Non-

By adding the prefix non- (“without” or “other than”), you can create these antonyms:

• entity — nonentity
• conformist — nonconformist
• payment — nonpayment
• sense — nonsense

The function of antonyms 

1. Learning antonyms is an effortless and effective way of improving your vocabulary.
2. Identifying words in combination with the other or concerning other groups of words can assist you to derive the right meanings and insights.
3. Learning antonyms permits you to select your words properly when conveying a message to your audience.
4. Understanding these opposite words will additionally boost confidence in learning the language.
5. Antonym words allow you better define the state of the world around you.