Antonyms are words that have contrasting or opposite meanings. Like so much of the English language, antonym is rooted in the Greek language. The Greek word anti means opposite, while onym means name. Opposite name – that makes sense! Three different kinds of antonyms exist: complementary, relational, and graded.
Complementary
Complementary antonyms have no middle ground. Complementary opposites are pairs that express absolute opposites.
- boy x girl
- off x on
- night x day
- entrance x exit
- exterior x interior
- true x false
- dead x alive
- push x pull
- pass x fail
Relational
Relational antonyms (Converses) are pairs in which one describes a relationship between two objects, and the other describes the same relationship when the two objects are reversed. These are similar to complementary antonyms, except that both must exist to be antonyms of each other.
- above x below
- doctor x patient
- husband x wife
- servant x master
- borrow x lend
- give x receive
- predator x prey
- buy x sell
- instructor x pupil
Graded
Gradable antonyms are two ends of the spectrum but can have variations. These antonyms deal with comparison levels and can be two words on a scale. Many are relative terms which can be interpreted differently by different people.
- young x elderly
- hard x easy
- happy x wistful
- wise x foolish
- fat x slim
- warm x cool
- early x late
- fast x slow
- dark x pale
Since the English language is so complex, people may have differing views about which words truly have opposite meanings. So, some tactics are used to choose the most appropriate word every time.
Add a Prefix to Create an Antonym
Sometimes, one doesn’t need to search for another word entirely. It’s possible to create an antonym simply by adding a prefix to the word.
Some examples of antonyms created by adding the prefix dis
- agree x disagree
- appear x disappear
- belief x disbelief
- honest x dishonest
Adding the prefix in can make the following opposites
- tolerant x intolerant
- decent x indecent
- discreet x indiscreet
- excusable x inexcusable
Using the prefix mis create antonyms
- behave x misbehave
- interpret x misinterpret
- lead x mislead
- trust x mistrust
Examples of antonyms made by adding the prefix un
- likely x unlikely
- able x unable
- fortunate x unfortunate
- forgiving x unforgiving
Adding the prefix non can make these antonyms
- entity x nonentity
- conformist x nonconformist
- aligned x nonaligned
- payment x nonpayment
- sense x nonsense
Auto-antonyms
Auto-antonyms are the same words that can mean the opposite of themselves under different contexts or have 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)
Antonymy
Though the word antonym was only coined by philologists in the 19th century, such relationships are a fundamental part of a language, in contrast to synonyms, which are a result of history and drawing of fine distinctions, or homonyms, which are primarily etymological accidents or coincidences. The term antonym and the related antonymmy have also been commonly used as a term that is synonymous with the opposite; however, the term also has other more restricted meanings. One usage has an antonym referring to both gradable opposites, such as long: short, and (non-gradable) complementary opposites, such as male: female, while opposites of the types up: down and precede: follow are excluded from the definition. A third usage defines the term antonym as referring to only gradable opposites (the long -short type), while the other types are referred to with different terms.
In lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pair: male -female, long -short, up -down, and precede -follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not the other pair member. For example, something that is long entails that it is not short. It is referred to as a ‘binary’ relationship because two members are 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?
Opposites are interestingly simultaneously different and similar in meaning. Typically, they differ in only one dimension of meaning but are identical in most other respects, including similarity in grammar and positions of semantic abnormality. Additionally, not all words have an opposite. Some words are non-opposable. For example, the word platypus has no word that stands in opposition to it. The main reason is that animal or plant species have no binary opposites other than possible gender opposites, such as lion/lioness. Other words are opposable but have an accidental gap in a given language’s lexicon. For example, the word devout lacks a lexical opposite. Still, it is relatively easy to conceptualize a parameter of devoutness where devout lies at the positive pole with a missing member at the negative pole.
Opposites may be viewed as a particular type of incompatibility. Words create the following type of entailment: X is a given word, and Y is a different word incompatible with word X. An example of an incompatible pair of words is cat -dog: It’s a cat entails. It’s not a dog.
This incompatibility is also found in the opposite pairs, fast-slow and stationary-moving, as seen below.
- It’s fast entails. It’s not slow.
- It’s stationary entails. It’s not moving.
Basic Characteristics of Opposites
- binarity
- inheritness
- patency
Synonyms and Antonyms
A synonym is the opposite of an antonym. It is a word that means the same, or almost the same, as another word. They help us avoid repetition in our speech and writing and expand our vocabulary. Synonyms and antonyms are used every day by teachers, students, writers, editors, poets, and songwriters to add variety to writing.
Antonyms can contrast two things or provide clues about what is meant.
- achieve x fail
- giant x dwarf
- random x specific
- afraid x confident
- gloomy x cheerful
- rigid x flexible
- ancient x modern
- individual x group
- shame x honour
- arrive x depart
- innocent x guilty
- simple x complicated
- arrogant x humble
- knowledge x ignorance
- single x married
- attack x defend
- liquid x solid
- sunny x cloudy
- blunt x sharp
- marvellous x terrible
- timid x bold
- brave x cowardly
- noisy x quiet
- toward x away
- cautious x careless
- partial x complete
- drunk x sober
- private x public
- vacant x occupied
- expand x contract
- problem x solution
- vague x definite
- freeze x boil
- professional x amateur
- villain x hero
- full x empty
- profit x loss
- wax x wane
- generous x stingy
- quality x inferiority
- wealth x poverty
- tragic x comic
- complex x simple
- passive x active
- transparent x opaque
- crazy x sane
- permanent x unstable
- triumph x defeat
- crooked x straight
- plentiful x sparse
- union x separation
- demand x supply
- positive x negative
- unique x common
- destroy x create
- powerful x weak
- upset x relaxed
- divide x unite
- praise x criticism
- urge x deter