Antonyms

An antonym is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings. Each word in the pair
is the antithesis of the other. A word may have more than one antonym. There are
three categories of antonyms identified by the nature of the relationship between
the opposed meanings. Where the two words have definitions that lie on a
continuous spectrum of meaning, they are gradable antonyms. Where the meanings
do not lie on a continuous spectrum and the words have no other lexical relationship,
they are complementary antonyms. Where the two meanings are opposite only
within the context of their relationship, they are relational antonyms.

Gradable antonyms
A gradable antonym is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings where the two
meanings lie on a continuous spectrum. Temperature is such a continuous spectrum
so hot and cold, two meanings on opposite ends of the spectrum, are gradable
antonyms. Other examples include: heavy, light; fat, skinny; dark, light; young, old;
early, late; empty, full; dull, interesting.

Complementary antonyms
A complementary antonym is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings, where
the two meanings do not lie on a continuous spectrum. There is no continuous
spectrum between push and pull but they are opposite in meaning and are therefore
complementary antonyms. Other examples include: dead, alive; off, on; day, night;
exit, entrance; exhale, inhale; occupied, vacant; identical, different.

Relational antonyms
A relational antonym is one of a pair of words with opposite meanings, where
opposite makes sense only in the context of the relationship between the two
meanings. There is no lexical opposite of teacher, but teacher and pupil are opposite
within the context of their relationship. This makes them relational antonyms.
Other examples include: husband, wife; doctor, patient; predator, prey; teach,
learn; servant, master; come, go; parent, child.

Words

Antonyms List

happy
hard
harmful
hasten
hate
healthy
here
heavy
height
hero
hill
horizontal
hinder
honest
humble
hunger
imitation
immense
imprison
include
increase
inhabited
inferior
inside
intelligent
inhale
interior
interesting
internal
intentional
join
junior
justice
king

sad, miserable
soft
harmless
dawdle
love
unhealthy, ill, diseased
there
light
depth
coward
valley
vertical
aid, help
dishonest
proud
thirst
genuine
tiny, minute
free
exclude
decrease
uninhabited
superior
outside
unintelligent, stupid
exhale
exterior, outside
uninteresting, dull
external
accidental
separate
senior
injustice
subject

Words

Antonyms List

knowledge

ignorance

laugh
lawful
lazy
land
landlord
large
last
lawyer
lecturer
lender
lengthen
left
less
light
like
likely
leader
little
lofty
long
loud
loss
low
loyal
mad
magnetize
master
mature
maximum
me
merry
minority
miser

cry
unlawful
industrious, energetic
sea
tenant
little, small
first
client
student
borrower
shorten
right
more
dark, heavy
dislike, unlike
unlikely
follower
large, much, big
lowly
short
soft
find, win
high
disloyal
sane
demagnetize
servant
immature
minimum
you
mirthless, sad
majority
spendthrift

Words

Antonyms List

misunderstand
narrow
near
neat

understand
wide
far, distant
untidy

new
night
noisy
North
obedient
odd
offer
open
optimist
out
parent
past
patient
peace
permanent
please
plentiful
poetry
possible
poverty
powerful
polite
private
prudent
pretty
pure
qualified
rapid
regularly

old
day
quiet
South
disobedient
even
refuse
shut
pessimist
in
child
present
impatient
war
temporary
displease
scarce
prose
impossible
wealth
feeble, weak
impolite, rude
public
imprudent
unsightly, ugly
impure
unqualified
slow
irregularly

Words

Antonyms List

rich
right
rigid
rough
satisfactory
security
scatter
serious

poor
wrong, left
pliable, soft
smooth
unsatisfactory
insecurity
collect
trivial

second-hand
sense
shopkeeper
singular
simple
slim
solid
sober
speaker
sour
sorrow
sow
stand
straight
strong
success
sunny
take
tall
tame
teacher
thick
tight
top
transparent
truth

new
nonsense
customer
plural
complicated
thick, stout
liquid
drunk
listener
sweet
joy
reap
lie
crooked
weak
failure
cloudy
give
short
wild
pupil
thin
slack, loose
bottom
opaque
untruth, lie

Words

Antonyms List

up
vacant
valuable
victory
virtue
visible
voluntary
vowel
wax
wisdom
within

down
occupied
valueless
defeat
vice
invisible
compulsory
consonant
wane
folly
without