CLASS 3 (1/8/2024) – 4.00 to 5.

30 PM

TOPIC – SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS

Synonym (समानार्थी शब्द) – Words that have same or similar meaning

Examples –

1. Clarity/Focus/Clearness
2. Happy/Elated/Joyful

Antonym (विलोम शब्द)– Words that have opposite meaning

Examples –

1. Clear – Vague or Opaque

2. Happy – Sad or Miserable

Synonyms of Teaching – Train, Educate, Guide

Antonyms of Teaching – Misteach, Miseducate, Misguide

Thesaurus – In a Thesaurus, you will find a list of words in alphabetical order. Often each word meaning
is also accompanied by a list of its synonyms & antonyms.
 SYNONYM

A synonym is a word that has a similar meaning to another word. The word derives from many different
dialects, the earliest being the Greek sunonumon. Others include French synonyme and Latin
synonymum. Many more synonyms exist than antonyms because most words in the English language
have another word with a very close connotation. Synonyms are important in writing because they add
variance to text, especially longer transcripts where the repetition of the same word or phrase can be
off-putting to the reader. Using the same phrases repeatedly can become boring for the audience and
steer them away from the piece.

Good: great, wonderful, amazing, fantastic

Big: large, huge, giant, gigantic, sizeable

Beautiful: pretty, attractive, alluring, charming

Smart: brilliant, clever, intelligent, sharp, astute

What are the types of synonyms?

Synonyms have three main types based on how close the words’ meanings are. Absolute synonyms have
the exact same meaning, partial synonyms have similar meanings with only subtle differences, and near
synonyms have different meanings that are closely related to each other.

Absolute synonyms: Have the same meaning

Partial synonyms: Have similar meanings with minor differences

Near synonyms: Have different meanings that are closely related

Two-way synonyms

Have the same meaning and return the same search results. For example, "walk" and "stroll" are
synonyms that both mean going for a leisurely walk outside.

One-way synonyms

Are a subset of a keyword, but with a more specific meaning. For example, capris and shorts are pants,
but not all pants are capris or shorts.
 ANTONYM

Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. Small is an antonym of big. Stop is an antonym of go.
Correct is an antonym of incorrect.

Simple enough, right?

When it comes to antonyms, you should keep in mind that:

Words can have multiple antonyms (and of varying degrees).

Many types of words can be/have an antonym including nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and
prepositions.

What Are the Different Types of Antonyms (With Examples)?

There are a few different types of antonyms.

1. Auto-Antonyms (Contronyms)

Auto-antonyms (also referred to as contronyms) are words that have two meanings that are opposite of
each other.

Take the word overlook as an example. It can mean “to fail to notice something” or “to look over
something or supervise”
We overlooked an error that caused a massive decrease in profits.

Our boss had to overlook the sale of the products.

These two contradictory meanings make “overlook” an auto-antonym. A few more examples are:

Dust (verb): to clean or wipe the dust off a surface

Dust (verb: to sprinkle a surface with a powder or dust

Back up (phrasal verb): to support

Back up (phrasal verb): to retreat

Fine (adjective): of superior or high quality

Fine (adjective): acceptable or satisfactory

2. Graded Antonyms

Graded (or gradable) antonyms are those words that fall on the opposite sides of a spectrum when
referring to a specific quality. For example, hot and cold have to do with temperature and are opposites.
Other gradable antonyms include:

small — big (size)

near — far (distance)

light — heavy (weight)

3. Complementary Antonyms

Complementary antonyms (sometimes known as binary or contradictory antonyms) offer no middle

ground. In other words, something can be one or the other, but not both.

For instance, you can be mortal or immortal, but it would be impossible to be somewhere in the middle.
A few more examples of complementary antonyms are:

vacant — occupied

on — off

yes — no

4. Converse Antonyms
Converse antonyms are also referred to as relational antonyms. These are a pair of words that
establishes a relationship from opposite perspectives. For example, parent is a relational antonym of
offspring.

Here are a few more examples of converse antonyms:

employee — employer

prey — predator

doctor — patient

Prefixes and Antonyms

Sometimes (but not always) a prefix can be added to a word to create an antonym. Remember: A prefix
is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word.

Below, you’ll find a few words that, when prefixes are added, express an antonymous relationship:

Dis-

obedient — disobedient

honest — dishonest

comfort — discomfort

Im- or In-

decent — indecent

patient — impatient

possible — impossible

Mis-

understand — misunderstand

lead — mislead

behave — misbehave

Non-

believer — nonbeliever

combatant — noncombatant
verbal — nonverbal

Un-

important — unimportant

impressed — unimpressed

ease — unease

Why should we learn Synonyms & Antonyms?

Clear communication

Using synonyms and antonyms correctly can help you communicate your ideas clearly and interestingly.
For example, you can use a synonym like "wonderful" instead of just "good" to describe a situation.

Vocabulary expansion

Learning synonyms and antonyms can help you expand your vocabulary. You can also use them to
discover the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Understanding figurative language

Synonyms and antonyms are a vital part of understanding figurative language and how words relate to
each other.

Sharpening your sense of language

Learning common antonyms can help sharpen your sense of language.

Benefits of learning Antonym/Synonym

 To express ourselves effectively

 To help us grow our vocabulary
 Improving our overall language skills.
 Research shows that students who master S&As become more effective communicators!

Usually synonym/antonym questions are straightforward and it is a matter of learning as many as

possible. However, there are certain harder questions, where you get trick choices. It is, therefore, better
to practice as many trick choice questions as well. Some of the examples are -
 1) Choose the best antonym.

RESTIVE:

A) patient

B) rigorous

C) deceptive

D) active

E) cautious

2) Take note of positively and negatively charged answer choices. It is possible to associate a negative or
positive charge with almost any given word. Try to discern whether each word in the following list has a
positive (+), negative (-), or neutral (=) charge.

Choose the best synonym.

MALIGNED: - spread lies about someone, defamed, negative impression

A) beneficent antonym

B) magnanimous

C) downtrodden

D) destitute synonym

E) elegant

In the example, we are trying to find the best synonym for the word maligned. So, we should begin by
ascertaining its charge. The prefix, "mal" is typically used in negatively charged words. Therefore, the
answer will likely have a positive charge. Let's go through the list to see how each word is charged. A)
beneficent (+) B) magnanimous (+) C) downtrodden (-) D) destitute (-) E) elegant (=) After labeling each,
we are left with two words that are positively charged: beneficent and magnanimous. Even if you don't
know the meaning of any answer choices, you have narrowed your choices down to two and are left
with a 50% change of answering correctly. This is a quick technique that can be very beneficial when
attempting to answer a question with several words that you are unsure about.

3) Eliminate answer choices that are close synonyms. Spotting synonyms within the answer choices can
be valuable because it allows you to narrow your viable answer choices. If two of the answers have very
similar meanings, then the correct answer is too ambiguous. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate these
choices. The SAT/GRE are tough tests, but they always present one answer choice that is clearly correct.
See if you can eliminate two answer choices from the following example.

Choose the best antonym.

FOMENT: to facilitate something (usually with negative connotation)

A) mitigate

B) engender

C) check

D) mollify

E) satiate

5) Try to associate the word with a familiar context. This being the case, they get included in many
proverbial phrases. Note the following examples: "Gail force winds," "The Village Advocate," "Test your
mettle", "Road to Perdition", "Patience is a virtue", "Abject poverty", "He made it through unscathed".

Patience is a virtue

Impatient

Hasty

6) Use your knowledge of Romance Languages. For example, the Spanish word malo means bad. This is a
common root for many negatively charged words: maligned malignant malapropos malediction
malevolent malicious malefaction In addition, the Spanish word bueno means good. This is also a
common root for many positively charged words:

benediction

beneficial

beneficent

benevolent

benefactor

benign

But, be careful. Sometimes questions will attempt to trick the test taker by including roots in words that
belie their true meaning:
Some Examples of Common Synonyms/Antonyms

Antonyms (50): Good-bad, hot-cold, add-subtract, plus-minus, happy-sad, big-small, circle-square, high-
low, light-dark, loud-quiet, pretty-ugly, calm-chaotic, clean-dirty, birth-death, rough-smooth, stop-go,
start-end, rain-snow, wet-dry, empty-full, young-old, well-sick, love-hate, north-south, boy-girl, true-
false, buy-sell, student-teacher, mother-father, cat-dog, east-west, up-down, left-right, shirt-pants, laugh-
cry, last-first, laugh-cry, on-off, open-close, fat-skinny, top-bottom, over-under, sweet-sour, crunchy-
chewy, soft-hard, long-short, found-lost, rich-poor, work-play, kind-rude.

Synonyms (50): big-large, rabbit-bunny, nice-kind, good-great, bad-negative, aircraft-plane, wood-lumber,

cat-feline, dog-canine, small-petite, home-house, boy-male, girl-female, sick-ill, evil-malicious, mom-
mother, dad-father, happy-joyful, angry-outraged, smart-bright, pretty-attractive, pig-swine, afraid-
scared, car-automobile, run-sprint, clean-tidy, dirty-messy, dark-sinister, delicious-tasty, interesting-
engaging, example-instance, observe-view, touch-feel, smell-whiff, throw-chuck, idea-thought, present-
gift, hat-cap, couch-sofa, silly-funny, however-nonetheless, love-affection, frail-weak, real-genuine,
vacation-trip, create-produce, swipe-steal, achieve-accomplish, start-begin, end-finish.

Some examples of Special Antonyms/Synonyms

Bellicose – willingness to fight – Antonym – Peaceful, friendly

Restive – rebellious – Antonym – docile, obedient

Noisome - bad for the well-being of the body – Antonym – healthy, healthful

Credulous – naïve – Antonym – skeptical, cynical

Fulsome - overly or insincerely flattering – Antonym – genuine, sincere

Adulterate - containing foreign or lower-grade substances – Antonym – unadulterated, pure

Craven - showing a shameful lack of courage – Antonym – brave, heroic

Precipitate - acting with excessive or careless speed – Antonym – unhurried, deliberate

Prosaic – ordinary – Antonym – unusual, extraordinary, peculiar

Activities to do in a class
Word Webs

Reference link - https://englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Synonyms-and-Antonyms.html