We have already discussed how to practice Synonyms. You have the idea how to remember Synonyms or same words. Today we will discuss about Antonyms.
What are Antonyms?
An antonym is a word that is the opposite meaning of another. It comes from the Greek words "anti" for opposite and "onym" for name. Since language is complex, people may at times, disagree on what words are truly opposite in meaning to other words.
Why Are Antonyms Important?
Oddly enough, to better understand the meaning of a word, we can take a look at its antonym, or opposite meaning. For instance, take the word 'morose.' The definition of 'morose' is 'gloomily or sullenly ill-humored.' Sometimes, even reading a dictionary definition is not enough to give us a complete understanding of a word. Most dictionaries provide synonyms and antonyms, as well.
For instance, here are a few listed synonyms for the word 'morose:' 'moody,' 'sour,' 'sulky.' Also, here are a few antonyms: 'cheerful' and 'optimistic.' Now we know that the opposite of 'morose' is cheerful and even optimistic! Taking a look at both the synonyms and antonyms really provides us with a clearer definition.
Practicing Tips
Tips 1: Search for the antonyms for a word.
Here is an example of antonyms for the word "Cold".Hot, summer - these two are antonyms or opposite words of the word ColdAnother example of antonyms - GoodBad, badly, badness, evil, evilness, ill, malevolent, malicious, poorly, wicked
Tips 2: Search for synonyms of the antonyms identified in tips one.
If you take the second antonym listed, "bad," and search for synonyms, you would be shown 73 synonyms for "bad."That would give you a lot of antonyms to choose from when looking for that perfect antonym for good, including words such as: awful, dreadful, hard, hopeless, inferior, lousy, painful, rotten, severe, stale, terrible, and tough.
Categories of Antonyms
There are three categories of antonyms:
Graded antonyms - deal with levels of the meaning of the words, like if something is not "good", is may still not be "bad." There is a scale involved with some words, and besides good and bad there can be average, fair, excellent, terrible, poor, or satisfactory.
Complementary antonyms - have a relationship where there is no middle ground. There are only two possibilities, either one or the other.
Relational antonyms - are sometimes considered a subcategory of complementary antonyms. With these pairs, for there to be a relationship, both must exist.
Examples of Antonyms
Afraid - ConfidentArrogant - HumbleBrave - CowardlyDestroy - CreateEast - WestBlack - WhiteFreeze - BoilInnocent - GuiltyCompliment - InsultPraise - CriticismRandom - SpecificSturdy - WeakSunny - CloudyTimid - BoldVague - DefiniteVillain - Hero
Adding a Prefix to Antonyms
Antonyms are pairs of words with almost opposite meanings. Considering short and tall which are opposite in connotation however both fall under the invariable parts of speech like adjectives and would take the same place in a sentence. Some words can be changed into antonyms merely by adding the prefixes 'in,' 'dis,' 'non,' 'ir,' 'un,' etc.
Examples:
Likable - UnlikableImportant - UnimportantForgivable - UnforgivableAdvantage - DisadvantageSatisfied - DissatisfiedPatient - ImpatientLegal - IllegalEffective - IneffectiveComplete - IncompleteRelevant - Irrelevant
