What is an antonym?
An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another word.For example, ‘cold’ is the antonym of ‘hot’.
The list of antonyms below, with an example of use,
will help English learners improve their vocabulary.(a) = adjective (prep) = preposition (v) = verb
Word | Antonym | Example |
|---|---|---|
| above (prep) | below (prep) | The cups are on the shelf above the sink. The washing-up liquid is below the sink. |
| absent (a) | present (a) | Arthur is not here today. He's absent. The teacher will be present at the graduation ceremony. |
| accept (v) | refuse (v) | The customer accepts/refuses the conditions. |
| accidental (a) | intentional (a) | He didn't intend to break the window. It was accidental. He wanted to break the window. It was intentional. |
| add (v) | subtract (v) | An amount of tax must be added to the bill. A mistaken amount was substracted from the bill. |
| admit (v) | deny (v) | Bobby said he stole the ball. He admitted it. Sam said he didn't steal the ball. He denied it. |
| affirmative (a) | negative (a) | I got the job! The reply was affirmative. I'm disappointed. I received a negative reply. |
| after (prep) | before (prep) | My guitar lesson is after lunch, at 2 pm. The tennis match is before lunch, at 11 am. |
| alive (a) | dead (a) | The man was alive/dead when the doctor arrived. |
| allow (v) | forbid (v) | Food is allowed but smoking is forbidden. |
| approximately(a) | exactly (a) | The journey will take approximately an hour. The journey will take exactly 48 minutes and 30 seconds. |
| arrive (v) | depart (v) | The train departs at 10.15 am and arrives at 2 pm. |
| attack (v) | defend (v) | Enemy forces attacked the harbour. Our troups defended it. |
| awake (a) | asleep (a) | I can hear noise. The baby is awake. There is no noise. The baby is still asleep. |
| bad (a) | good (a) | Pedro is a bad student. He must work harder. José got good results in English. He is very pleased. |
| beautiful (a) | ugly (a) | The actress is very beautiful. The wound left an ugly scar on the man's face. |
| before (prep) | after (prep) | The tennis match is before lunch, at 11 am. My guitar lesson is after lunch, at 2 pm. |
| begin (v) | end (v) | The film begins at 7 pm and ends at 8.30 pm. |
| below (prep) | above (prep) | The bookshelves are above the television. The dvds are below it. |
| big (a) | small (a) | My boss drives a big car but my car is small. |
| bitter (a) | sweet (a) | We had a choice between sweet tea or bitter wine. |
| brave (a) | cowardly (a) | You were very brave to defend the group. A cowardly person runs away when faced with danger. |
| cheap (a) | expensive (a) | This shop sells cheap/expensive clothes. |
| clean (a) | dirty (a) | When our parents returned the house was clean/dirty. |
| cold (a) | hot (a) | We need to heat the soup because it's cold. Be careful! The plate is very hot. |
| come (v) | go (v) | Visitors to the museum come and go all day |
| complicated (a) | simple (a) | Some legal terms can be complicated and difficult to understand. The terms of the agreement were simple and clear. |
| cool (a) | warm (a) | In autumn you should bring clothes for cool weather. In spring the weather is often warm. |
| correct (a) | incorrect (a) | His answer was correct/incorrect. |
| cowardly (a) | brave (a) | You were very brave to defend the group. It was cowardly of you to run away. |
| curly (a) | straight (a) | Her hair is curly/straight. |
No comments:
Post a Comment