Antonyms

Words that have opposite meanings are called Antonyms. Comprehension of usage of opposite words can make you go the extra mile in improving vocabulary quality, hence improving communication. Derived from two Greek words, namely “anti” means “opposite” and ” -onym” means “Sonoma” means “name”.

Anonym is an antonym of the word Synonym, which means a word with the same meaning as another word. Antonyms or opposite words are regular adjectives that are used in regular conversation. 

For example: tall and short, hot and cold, near and far large and small, good and bad.

How to Use Antonyms

Usually, antonyms are more focused on the adjective class of words than others like nouns or verbs, “

• Nouns can be opposite words (for example, courage and cowardice), 
•  verbs (arrive and depart),
• adverbs (carefully and carelessly), and
•  prepositions (above and below). 

“You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.” (Cormac McCarthy, The Road)

Opposition and Parallelism

A few of the most commonly known factors contributing to rhythmic and parallel opposite words are their semantic Oppositeness.” 

For instance, the rhythm in words  “increase and decrease” is supported by morphically parallel or semantic opposite words, their rhyme and the perception of similar morphology, and their semantic opposition.

Types of Antonym/Opposite words

There are four types of Antonyms: 

• Auto- Antonym.
• Complimentary Antonym
• Converse Antonym
• Graded Antonym

Auto Antonym

Also known as Janus Word or Catronym, these opposite words have two meanings, including the one with an opposite meaning.

For example, “blind,” “dust”, “consult”, and “fast”.

Complimentary Antonym

Also Known as contradictory antonyms or direct antonyms, these are entirely independent of one another. They are the exact opposite of each other, and they don’t need another term to coexist.

For example, night and day. Inhale and exhale.

Converse Antonym

Opposite words closely related to each other and can’t exist without the other word are known as Converse antonyms or relational antonyms.

For example, “near” and “far” are converse antonyms because an object can’t be near without measuring it with something far away.

Graded Antonym

When there is a variation between words with similar meanings, the words are called Graded Antonyms. While “pleased,” “gratified,” “overjoyed,” and “content” all have a relational connection to “happy,” each has a different definition.

Using Prefixes to Create Antonyms

There can be an opposite relationship revealed between words just by adding a few prefixes :

• Dis-: 

Examples of antonyms that use the prefix “dis-” include “dislike (like),” “disappear (appear),” “disobedient (obedient),” and “discomfort (comfort).”

• I’m- and In-: 

Adding the prefixes “im-” or “in-” will create new words that are antonyms. Examples include “injustice (justice),” “intolerance (tolerance),” “impossible (possible),” and “impatient (patient).”

• Mis-: 

By adding the prefix “mis-,” you can create such antonyms as “misinformation (information),” “misconduct (conduct),” “mislead (lead),” and “misunderstand (understand).”

• Non- and un-: 

The prefixes “non-” and “un-” will create antonyms with certain words. Examples include “uncertain (certain),” “non-compliant (compliant),” “unease (ease),” and “nonverbal (verbal).”

Antonym Examples

In language, there can be thousands of antonyms available for study. A few of them are mentioned below:

Auto-antonym: “Dust,” when utilised as an action word, is an example of an Auto antonym. One definition signifies “to gently cover with fine particles,” while different signifies “clean a light garbage.” Here are two sentences that show this distinction: “He dusted the cookie with a fine layer of powdered sugar,” and “She cleaned the chimney mantle.”

Complementary antonyms: “The kid went across the road” and “The young lady strolled to the check” are instances of sentences with Complimentary antonyms. The subjects of the two sentences are autonomous: The kid doesn’t exist as the young lady’s condition.

Converse antonyms: “The dish was warm” and “The skillet was cool to the touch ” states the best way of Converse antonyms are contrary, social energies. The dish can’t be cool except if it’s first hot and afterwards warm.

Graded antonyms: variations of words with different meanings are called Graded antonyms. 

An example is, “The outcomes shifted from charming and energetic to cheerful and exceptional.” These terms imply “great” yet vary in scale: “wonderful” isn’t equivalent to “astounding,” however, both are positive words.

Conclusion

A word that means complete or relatively opposite of another word is known as Antonym of the later. Oddly enough, to comprehend the importance of a word, we can investigate its antonym or inverse significance. For example, take the word ‘morose.’ The meaning of melancholy is ‘miserably or grumpy.’ Sometimes, in any event, perusing a word reference definition isn’t to the point of providing us with a total comprehension of a word. Most word references give equivalents and antonyms, too.

Usage Antonyms and synonyms makes the writing and reading impressive. A deep understanding of these will help in better communication and conversation.