Synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms are words with the same or nearly the same meaning: ⟦big⟧ and ⟦large⟧. Antonyms are words with opposite meanings: ⟦hot⟧ and ⟦cold⟧. Knowing them helps you understand new words, avoid repeating yourself and choose the best word for what you mean.

Key facts

  • Synonyms mean nearly the same: ⟦happy⟧, ⟦glad⟧, ⟦cheerful⟧; ⟦begin⟧ and ⟦start⟧.
  • Synonyms are rarely exactly the same: ⟦enormous⟧ is bigger than ⟦big⟧, and ⟦furious⟧ is angrier than ⟦cross⟧. Pick the one that fits best.
  • Antonyms are opposites: ⟦early⟧/⟦late⟧, ⟦empty⟧/⟦full⟧, ⟦win⟧/⟦lose⟧.
  • One word can have different antonyms: ⟦old⟧ is the opposite of ⟦new⟧ (a car) and of ⟦young⟧ (a person).
  • Prefixes can make antonyms: ⟦happy → unhappy⟧, ⟦agree → disagree⟧, ⟦possible → impossible⟧, ⟦correct → incorrect⟧, ⟦legal → illegal⟧, ⟦regular → irregular⟧.

Worked examples

Example 1

Which word means the same as ⟦quick⟧: ⟦slow⟧, ⟦fast⟧ or ⟦quiet⟧?

  1. ⟦a quick runner⟧ means ⟦a fast runner⟧: the meaning stays the same.
  2. ⟦slow⟧ is the opposite (an antonym), and ⟦quiet⟧ is about sound.

Answer: ⟦fast⟧

Example 2

Write the opposite of ⟦honest⟧ using a prefix.

  1. The prefixes that make opposites include ⟦un-⟧, ⟦dis-⟧, ⟦im-⟧ and ⟦in-⟧.
  2. With ⟦honest⟧ we use ⟦dis-⟧: ⟦dishonest⟧.

Answer: ⟦dishonest⟧

Example 3

Are ⟦wet⟧ and ⟦dry⟧ synonyms or antonyms?

  1. Something wet has water on it; something dry has none.
  2. They mean opposite things, so they are antonyms.

Answer: Antonyms