Antonym
An antonym is a word that has a contrast or opposite meaning with another word in the same language. There are 3 types of antonyms:
1. Relational antonym consists of word pairs that show the relationship between two opposites, but one cannot exist without the other.
Example :
Child - parent (there can’t be a child without a parent)
Husband - wife (to be a husband, you must have a wife)
Doctor - patient
Teacher - student
Buy - sell
Give - receive
Borrow - lend
2. Complementary antonym has no middle ground between a word and its opposite. It is absolute.
Example:
Right - wrong (it can't be right or wrong at the same time)
True - false
Boy - girl
Entrance - exit
Push - pull
Dead - alive
Exterior - interior
3. Gradable antonym is an antonym that can be scaled. It typically consists of pairs of adjectives that can be qualified by adverbs, such as very, quite, extremely, etc.
For example, we can say the tickets were expensive or the tickets were cheap. However, as expensive and cheap are gradable (not absolute) antonyms, we can also qualify how expensive or cheap they were :
- The tickets were surprisingly expensive / The tickets were very expensive / The tickets were quite expensive.
- The tickets were incredibly cheap / The tickets were rather cheap / The tickets were undeniably cheap.
Further examples are :
Young - elderly
Hard - easy
Friendly - unfriendly
Hot - cold
Wet - dry
Interesting - boring
Tips for Antonym
1. Expand your vocabulary by reading more books, articles, news, or watching movies using English subtitles. You can also learn from the Thesaurus, a special dictionary containing synonyms and antonyms.
2. Try to apply new vocabulary in your daily life.
Exercise:
1. Which of the following words means the opposite of ‘commence’?
A. Begin
B. Refresh
C. Join
D. Stop
E. Break
Pembahasan:
Commence artinya memulai, jadi lawan kata atau antonim dari commence adalah berhenti; selesai.
Opsi A kurang tepat karena begin artinya memulai. Oleh karena itu, begin merupakan sinonim dari commence, bukan antonim.
Opsi B salah karena refresh artinya menyegarkan.
Opsi C kurang tepat karena join artinya ikut.
Opsi D tepat karena stop artinya berhenti.
Opsi E salah karena break artinya istirahat.
2. What is the antonym of ‘arrogant’?
A. Friendly
B. Innocent
C. Superior
D. Bright
E. Careful
Pembahasan:
Arrogant artinya sombong; angkuh. Antonim atau lawan kata yang tepat untuk arrogant adalah ramah; rendah hati; tidak sombong.
Opsi A tepat karena friendly artinya ramah.
Opsi B tepat karena innocent artinya polos; tidak berdosa.
Opsi C tepat karena superior artinya angkuh; sombong. Oleh karena itu, superior merupakan sinonim dari arrogant, bukan antonim.
Opsi D tepat karena bright artinya cerdas; cemerlang; bijaksana.
Opsi E tepat karena careful artinya cermat; teliti.
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