Advertisement
Advertisement
antonym
[ an-tuh-nim ]
antonym
/ ˈæntənɪm; ænˈtɒnɪməs /
noun
- a word that means the opposite of another word
``empty'' is an antonym of ``full''
Discover More
Derived Forms
- antonymous, adjective
Discover More
Other Words From
- an·ton·y·mous [an-, ton, -, uh, -m, uh, s], anto·nymic adjective
- an·tony·my noun
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of antonym1
Discover More
Compare Meanings
How does antonym compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Discover More
Example Sentences
Software began decades ago as an unserious programmers’ antonym of “hardware.”
But, oddly enough, the eyes were a total and surprising antonym of this smiling mouth.
In strict usage, daily is the antonym of nightly as diurnal is of nocturnal.
By and by, which was once a synonym, has become an antonym of immediately, meaning at some (perhaps remote) future time.
Logically the other side of white is not white, while the antonym is the extreme black.
The direct antonym of cause is effect, while that of antecedent is consequent.
Advertisement
Discover More
More About Antonym
What is an antonym?
An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. For example, the word small means of limited size, while big means of large size. Happy, a feeling of gladness, is an antonym of sad, a feeling of sorrow.
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs can all have antonyms, though not all do. A word can also have multiple antonyms. For example, the words fast, quick, speedy, swift, and rapid are all antonyms of the word slow.
Even antonym has an antonym! The opposite of antonym is synonym, which is a word that has the same meaning as another word. For example, a synonym of the word fast would be quick—both describe something that moves with speed.
If you are looking for some spicy new antonyms to use in your writing, you can find them using Thesaurus.com.
Why is antonym important?
The first records of antonym come from around 1865. It combines the prefix ant(i)-, meaning “opposite of” and (syn)onym, meaning “a word having the same meaning or nearly the same meaning as another.”
A word may not have any antonyms. This is especially likely when the word has a very specific meaning or is a proper noun. For example, the words three and Pacific Ocean do not have any antonyms.
If you don’t know what a word means, antonyms can help you figure it out. For example, you might not know what the word incandescent means. Once you find out that the words dark and dull are antonyms of incandescent, though, you can be pretty sure it has something to do with brightness or bright light.
Did you know ... ?
Even slang words can have antonyms! In this article, we explore some antonyms of commonly used slang terms.
What are real-life examples of antonym?
You can use antonyms to describe many of the things you see around you. You can probably think of some antonyms you could use to describe these two dogs in this picture:
@dog_rates, Aug 31, 2021
Antonyms are used everyday to describe differences between things.
Why isn't there a good antonym for Nostalgia?
— ℭ𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔞 (@CarlaWasntHere) June 20, 2016
Student used "chordant" in a writing assignment as an antonym for "discordant" and honestly, I'm on board
— Ethan Hein (@ethanhein) May 4, 2020
Quiz yourself!
Which of the following words is an antonym of the word “begin?”
A. start
B. end
C. begun
D. beginning
Word of the Day
[ak-suh-lot-l ]
Meaning and examplesStart each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!
By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse