Antonyms: Concept and List of Commonly Used Antonyms
A word having a meaning opposite to that of
another word. (See "Three Types of Antonyms," below.) Antonym is the
antonym of synonym. Adjective: antonymous.
Antonymy is the sense relation that exists
between words which are opposite in meaning. Antonymy is found most commonly
(though not exclusively) among adjectives.
Examples and
Observations:
- "You forget what you
want to remember and you remember what you want to
forget."
(Cormac McCarthy, The Road. Knopf, 2006) - "You always pass failure on
the way to success."
(attributed to Mickey Rooney) - "Some have been thought to be brave
because they were afraid to run away."
(attributed to Thomas Fuller) - "This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!"
(Polonius in Act One, scene 3 of Hamlet by William Shakespeare) - "Winning may not be
everything, but losing has little to recommend it.”
(Dianne Feinstein in Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate, by Barbara Boxer et al. William Morrow, 2000) - "Every day I remind myself that my inner and outerlife
are based on the labors of other men, living anddead,
and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same
measure as I have received and am still receiving."
(Albert Einstein, The World As I See It, 1931) - "If speaking is
silver, then listening is gold."
(Turkish proverb) - Three Types of Antonyms
"Linguists identify three types of antonymy: - (1) Gradable antonyms,
which operate on a continuum: (very) big, (very) small.
Such pairs often occur in binomial phrases with and: (blow) hot
and cold, (search) high and low.
- (2) Complementary antonyms,
which express an either/or relationship: dead or alive, male or female.
- (3) Converse or relational
antonyms, expressing reciprocity: borrow or lend, buy or sell, wife or husband."
(Tom McArthur, "Antonym." The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford Univ. Press, 1992)
(1) Gradable Antonyms
"Gradable antonyms include pairs like the following:
beautiful - ugly
expensive - cheap
fast - slow
hot - cold
increase - decrease
long - short
love - hate
rich - poor
sweet - sour
wide- narrow
expensive - cheap
fast - slow
hot - cold
increase - decrease
long - short
love - hate
rich - poor
sweet - sour
wide- narrow
These pairs are called
gradable antonyms because they do not represent an either-or relation but
rather a more-less relation. The words can be viewed as terms at the end-points
of a continuum or gradient. The more/less relation is evident in a number of ways:
the terms allow comparison, e.g. 'My arm is longer/shorter than yours,' 'I love
a good book more than a good meal'; the adjectives can be modified by 'intensifying' adverbs,
e.g. very long, extremely hot, extraordinarily beautiful."
(Howard Jackson and Etienne Zé Amvela, Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. Continuum, 2000)
(2) Complementary Antonyms
"Complementary antonyms are another subtype of antonymy: if you are one, you cannot be the other; these are 'absolute' opposites. That is, if you are dead, you cannot also be alive; if you are asleep, you are not awake, and so on. Similar pairs of this sort includelegal/illegal and beginning/end."
(Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Wadsworth, 2013)
(3) Converse or Relational Antonyms
"The pairs above:below, before:after, precede:follow, buy:sell, and lend:borrow exemplify this category. Converses are sometimes called relational opposites. They all express relationships between two (or more) people or things. . . . Take, for instance, buy and sell:Brian sold the car to Michael and Michael bought the car from Brian both indicate that a particular transaction has taken place. But the first sentence highlights Brian's role in the proceedings, while the second focuses on Michael."
(N. E. Collinge, An Encyclopaedia of Language. Routledge, 1990)
(Howard Jackson and Etienne Zé Amvela, Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. Continuum, 2000)
(2) Complementary Antonyms
"Complementary antonyms are another subtype of antonymy: if you are one, you cannot be the other; these are 'absolute' opposites. That is, if you are dead, you cannot also be alive; if you are asleep, you are not awake, and so on. Similar pairs of this sort includelegal/illegal and beginning/end."
(Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Wadsworth, 2013)
(3) Converse or Relational Antonyms
"The pairs above:below, before:after, precede:follow, buy:sell, and lend:borrow exemplify this category. Converses are sometimes called relational opposites. They all express relationships between two (or more) people or things. . . . Take, for instance, buy and sell:Brian sold the car to Michael and Michael bought the car from Brian both indicate that a particular transaction has taken place. But the first sentence highlights Brian's role in the proceedings, while the second focuses on Michael."
(N. E. Collinge, An Encyclopaedia of Language. Routledge, 1990)
- "The opposite of love is not hate,
it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite
of life is not death, it's indifference.”
(Elie Wiesel, quoted in US News and World Report, October 27, 1986)
List of COMMON Antonyms
absence presence
accept refuse
accurate inaccurate
advantage disadvantage
alive dead
always never
ancient modern
answer question, query
approval disapproval
approached receded, departed
abundant scarce
admit deny
advance retreat, retire
artificial natural
arrival departure
ascend descend
attack defence
attractive repulsive
attention inattention
asleep awake
ally enemy
agree disagree
bad good
backward forward, onward
bend straighten
beautiful ugly
beginning ending
below above
bent straight
big small, little
blunt sharp
better worse
best worst
blame praise
bless curse
bitter sweet
borrow lend
bravery cowardice
build destroy, demolish
bold timid, meek
bright dull
broad narrow
clear vague, cloudy
careful rush, careless
calm troubled
capable incapable
captivity freedom, liberty
cellar attic
cheap dear, expensive
close distant
clever stupid
cold hot
combine separate
clockwise anti-clockwise
correct incorrect
conceal reveal
come go
common rare
comfort discomfort
courage cowardice
cruel kind
courteous discourteous, rude
cunning simple
dainty clumsy
danger safety
dark light
deep shallow
decrease increase
definite indefinite
demand supply
despair hope
disappear appear
disease health
discourage encourage
dismal cheerful
doctor patient
dry wet
dull clear, bright
dusk dawn
early late
easy difficult
ebb flow
East West
economise waste
encourage discourage
entrance exit
employer employee
empty full
excited calm
end beginning
expand contract
expensive inexpensive, cheap
export import
exterior interior
external internal
fail succeed
false true
feeble sturdy, strong, powerful
foolish wise
fast slow
few many
famous unknown
forelegs hind legs
fat thin
find lose
first last
freedom captivity
fold unfold
frequent seldom
forget remember
found lost
fresh stale
friend enemy
fortunate unfortunate
frank secretive
full empty
generous mean
gentle rough
gather distribute
glad sorry
gloomy cheerful
giant dwarf, pygmy
granted refused
great minute, small, little
guardian ward
guest host
guilty innocent
happy sad, miserable
hard soft
harmful harmless
hasten dawdle
hate love
healthy unhealthy, ill, diseased
here there
heavy light
height depth
hero coward
hill valley
horizontal vertical
hinder aid, help
honest dishonest
humble proud
hunger thirst
imitation genuine
immense tiny, minute
imprison free
include exclude
increase decrease
inhabited uninhabited
inferior superior
inside outside
intelligent unintelligent, stupid
inhale exhale
interior exterior, outside
interesting uninteresting, dull
internal external
intentional accidental
join separate
junior senior
justice injustice
king subject
knowledge ignorance
laugh cry
lawful unlawful
lazy industrious, energetic
land sea
landlord tenant
large little, small
last first
lawyer client
lecturer student
lender borrower
lengthen shorten
left right
less more
light dark, heavy
like dislike, unlike
likely unlikely
leader follower
little large, much, big
lofty lowly
long short
loud soft
loss find, win
low high
loyal disloyal
mad sane
magnetize demagnetize
master servant
mature immature
maximum minimum
me you
merry mirthless, sad
minority majority
miser spendthrift
misunderstand understand
narrow wide
near far, distant
neat untidy
new old
night day
noisy quiet
North South
obedient disobedient
odd even
offer refuse
open shut
optimist pessimist
out in
parent child
past present
patient impatient
peace war
permanent temporary
please displease
plentiful scarce
poetry prose
possible impossible
poverty wealth
powerful feeble, weak
polite impolite, rude
private public
prudent imprudent
pretty unsightly, ugly
pure impure
qualified unqualified
rapid slow
regularly irregularly
rich poor
right wrong, left
rigid pliable, soft
rough smooth
satisfactory unsatisfactory
security insecurity
scatter collect
serious trivial
second-hand new
sense nonsense
shopkeeper customer
singular plural
simple complicated
slim thick, stout
solid liquid
sober drunk
speaker listener
sour sweet
sorrow joy
sow reap
stand lie
straight crooked
strong weak
success failure
sunny cloudy
take give
tall short
tame wild
teacher pupil
thick thin
tight slack, loose
top bottom
transparent opaque
truth untruth, lie
up down
vacant occupied
valuable valueless
victory defeat
virtue vice
visible invisible
voluntary compulsory
vowel consonant
wax wane
wisdom folly
within without
thanks
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