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English Language: Synonyms And Antonyms

Synonyms and Antonyms

What Are Synonyms? (with Examples)

A synonym is a word or phrase that can be substituted for another word or phrase in a particular context. A synonym is a word that means the same thing as another word. If you replace a word in a sentence with its synonym, the meaning of the sentence won’t really change that much. For example, happy is a synonym of glad. We can say that happy and glad are synonymous.

Examples of Synonyms

Here are some more examples of synonyms (bold):

  • He studied law at Oxford.
  • He read law at Oxford.

(In this context, the verbs to study and to read are synonyms.)

  • She is an excellent student.
  • She is a strong student.

(In this context, the adjectives excellent and strong are synonyms.)

  • She is a real Picasso.
  • She is a great artist .

(In this context, the phrases are synonyms.)

Context Is Important When Considering Synonyms

Words which are synonyms in one context might not be synonyms in another. For example:

  • He was studying in the kitchen.
  • He was reading in the kitchen.

(In this context, the meanings of to study and to read are not close enough to be synonyms.)

  • This is an excellent cheese.
  • This is an strong cheese.

(In this context, excellent and strong are not synonyms.)

Synonyms Can Be Any Part of Speech

Synonyms can be any part of speech. For example: Adjectives

  • The reason is unimportant.
  • The reason is irrelevant.

Adverbs

  • He eats fast.
  • He eats quickly.

Conjunctions

  • I should tell her as she is my sister.
  • I should tell her because she is my sister.

(Note: These are known as subordinating conjunctions.)

Interjections

  • Yes, Captain.
  • Aye, Captain.

Nouns

  • Shall I take the dogs?
  • Shall I take the mutts?

Prepositions

  • Upon arrival, take a ticket.
  • On arrival, take a ticket.

Pronouns

  • I’ll show you my yacht. She is a beauty.
  • I’ll show you my yacht. It is a beauty.

Verbs

  • I need to contemplate the consequences.
  • I need to consider the consequences.

What Are Antonyms? (with Examples)

An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another. A word that has the exact opposite meaning of another word is its antonym. Life is full of antonyms, from the “stop” and “go” of a traffic signal to side-by-side restroom doors labeled “men” and “women. For example:

  • Bad is an antonym of good.
  • Coward is an antonym of hero or brave.

However, it’s not always the case that one word has just one antonym.

Examples of Antonyms

The following are all antonyms of good:

  • bad
  • badness
  • corrupt
  • evil
  • evilness
  • malicious
  • sour
  • wicked

The first point is that good, like many words, can be a noun or an adjective, so its antonyms will be a mix of nouns and adjectives too. The second point is that antonyms do not have to be exact opposites. There are two main types of antonyms: graded antonyms and complementary antonyms.

Graded Antonyms

Graded antonyms do not have to be opposites of equal weighting. They allow for shades of oppositeness. For example, the following are all antonyms for good:

  • unsatisfactory
  • poor
  • bad
  • terrible

Complementary Antonyms

Complementary antonyms offer no middle ground. With complementary antonyms, each word only has one antonym. (The reason for that is often a relationship between the two words.) For example:

  • 1 / 0
  • before / after
  • buy / sell
  • dead / alive
  • doctor / patient
  • husband / wife
  • man / woman
  • off / on
  • predator / prey
  • yes / no

Adding a Prefix to Form an Antonym

Quite often, an antonym can be made by adding a prefix. For example:

  • likely / unlikely
  • able / unable
  • entity / nonentity
  • combatant / noncombatant
  • typical / atypical
  • symmetrical / asymmetrical
  • decent / indecent
  • discreet / indiscreet

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