An antonym is a word that is the opposite meaning of another.
Categories of Antonyms
There are three categories of antonyms:
Graded antonyms
- Fat and skinny
- Young and old
- Happy and sad
- Hard and soft
- Last and first
- Foolish and wise
- Fast and slow
- Warm and cool
- Wide and narrow
- Abundant and scarce
- Joy and grief
- Dark and light
- Dangerous and safe
- Clever and foolish
- Early and late
- Empty and full
- Smart and dumb
- Risky and safe
- Bad and good
- Pretty and ugly
- Best and worst
- Simple and challenging
- Soft and hard
- Worried and calm
- Sane and crazy
- Rich and poor
- Cool and hot
- Wet and dry
- Late and early
- Ignorant and educated
- Big and small
- Optimistic and pessimistic
- Excited and bored
- Dull and interesting
Complementary antonyms
- Man and woman
- Push and pull
- Dead and alive
- Off and on
- Day and night
- Absent and present
- Exit and entrance
- Sink or float
- True or false
- Pass and fail
- Former and latter
- Input and output
- Interior and exterior
- Exhale and inhale
- Input and output
- Occupied and vacant
- Leave and arrive
- Pre and post
- Question and answer
- Single and married
- Hired and fired
- Brother and sister
- Before and after
- Crooked and straight
- Identical and different
- Natural or artificial
- Silence or noise
- Identical or different
- Yes and no
- Wet and dry
- Sharp and dull
- Raise and lower
- Fantasy and reality
Relational antonyms
Husband and wife
- Doctor and patient
- Buy and sell
- Predator and prey
- Above and below
- Give and receive
- Teach and learn
- Instructor and pupil
- Servant and master
- Borrow and lend
- Come and go
- Toward and away
- Divisor and dividend
- Parent and child
- East and west
- North and south
- Seller and buyer
- Mother and daughter
- Slave and master
- Floor and ceiling
- Front and back
- Up and down
- Win and lose
- Part and whole
- Offense and defense
- Behind and ahead
- Before and after
- On or off
- Trap and release
- Lost and found
- Left and right
- Give and get
- Employer employee
Adding a Prefix
Sometimes, an antonym can be easily made by adding a prefix.
Examples of antonyms that were made by adding the prefix “un” are:
- Likely and unlikely
- Able and unable
- Fortunate and unfortunate
- Forgiving and unforgiving
By adding the prefix “non” you can make these pairs:
- Entity and nonentity
- Conformist and nonconformist
- Payment and nonpayment
- Combatant and noncombatant
Lastly, adding the prefix “in” can make the following pairs:
- Tolerant and intolerant
- Decent and indecent
- Discreet and indiscreet
- Excusable and inexcusable
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