Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.
Most words have more than one antonym.
Antonyms can belong to all word classes and they are useful when describing, comparing and contrasting elements/topics.
There are different types of antonyms:
- relational antonyms
- gradable antonyms
- complementary antonyms
- antonyms formed with prefixes
Antonyms can belong to more than one category.
Relational antonyms are words that form a pair of opposite roles in a relationship.
|
Relational antonyms |
Relational antonyms |
|
parent → child |
doctor → patient |
|
teacher → student |
lend → borrow |
|
performer → spectator |
buy → sell |
|
offence → defence |
give → receive |
|
interviewer → interviewee |
predator → prey |
The narwhal is a predator. The octopus is one of its favourite prey.
Gradable antonyms are usually pairs of words that have opposite meanings that could be represented on a scale.
|
Gradable antonyms |
Gradable antonyms |
|
hard → easy |
hot → cold |
|
tall → short |
good → bad |
|
fast → slow |
long → short |
|
big → small |
delicious → disgusting |
|
early → late |
expensive → cheap |
|
warm → cool |
boring → interesting |
Gradable antonyms are usually adjectives
Adverbs can be added to specify the quality level of the adjective.
“Delicious’’ and ‘‘disgusting’’ are gradable antonyms.
We could add adverbs such as “very’’ or ‘‘extremely’’ before each word to qualify them.
For example: somewhat delicious or extremely disgusting.
Complementary antonyms are opposite pairs that can’t be used simultaneously to describe something. It is either one or the other.
|
Complementary antonyms |
Complementary antonyms |
|
on → off |
true → false |
|
alive → dead |
awake → asleep |
|
positive → negative |
full → empty |
|
real → fake |
night → day |
|
push → pull |
exterior → interior |
|
inhale → exhale |
win → lose |
A slush container cannot be full and empty at the same time. That is why these words are complementary antonyms.
Some antonyms are formed by adding a prefix to the word.
|
Prefix |
Word |
Antonym |
Prefix |
Word |
Antonym |
|
dis- |
organize |
disorganize |
de- |
construct |
deconstruct |
|
dys- |
function |
dysfunction |
im- |
possible |
impossible |
|
un- |
kind |
unkind |
in- |
tolerant |
intolerant |
|
il- |
logical |
illogical |
non- |
fiction |
nonfiction |
|
mis- |
lead |
mislead |
dis- |
belief |
disbelief |
For more examples, visit the concept sheet on prefixes.
