Synonyms and Antonyms

Brief Synopsis:

Imagine for a moment how dull the world would be if there were only one word to voice a particular
thought. If every person, place, or object could only be expressed with the same word over and over again
then reading, writing, and speaking would be extremely boring. Luckily, we have synonyms and antonyms
to add spice and flavor to our communication skills.

Synonyms are words that have the same or very similar meaning. All words can have a synonym.
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions can have a synonym as long as both words are the
same part of speech. Examples of Synonyms;
 Adjectives: beautiful, lovely, gorgeous, stunning, striking
 Nouns: House, home, dwelling, residence, abode, quarters
 Verbs: jump, bound, leap, hop, skip
 Prepositions: in, inside, within

That’s just a very short list. Here are more examples for you:
 Small, little, mini, short, tiny, petite, fine
 Fast, prompt, quick
 Smart, bright, intelligent, brilliant
 Kind, considerate, gracious, sweet, thoughtful
We’ve seen how this can be accomplished with synonyms. Now let’s take a look at what we can do
with antonyms.

Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. Often words will have more than one antonym
but as with synonyms it depends on the context. For instance, the word warm could have the antonym
cool or chilly. In order to choose the correct antonym, you have to look at all the meanings and how the
word is used. Cool can mean stylish as well as chilly so the word cool may not be the best choice.
Antonyms fall within the three categories: graded antonyms, relational antonyms, and complementary
antonyms.
Graded antonyms are word pairs that have variations between the two opposites. For example, big
and little are antonyms but there are a lot of changes before you get to the opposite meaning. Like this:
Big, huge, bulky, full-size, slight, petite, little
Other examples are: Happy – sad, Healthy – sick, Smart – stupid, etc.
Relational antonyms are pairs that have a relationship. Each word wouldn’t exist without the other.
There can’t be a parent without a child or it’s either all or nothing. Other examples include: Open – close,
Husband – wife, Front – back, Hello – goodbye.
Complimentary antonyms are word pairs that have no degree of meaning. There are only two
opposite possibilities. Examples: Dead- alive, True – false, Male- female, Daughter – son, On – off, etc.
When using antonyms always keep in mind the context of the word and then choose the best word
that means the opposite. As with synonyms, showing variations in meaning through the use of the correct
antonyms will add spark and interest to your writing.
Reference:
https://www.k12reader.com/term/synonyms-and-antonyms/

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