Opposites! Antonyms or Opposites are words that are opposites of each other. In this lesson, you will learn common opposites in English to expand your vocabulary.
Opposites
Opposites (A-F)
- About – exactly
- Above – below
- Allow – forbid
- Already – not yet
- Approximately – exactly
- Argue – agree
- Arrest – free
- Arrival – departure
- Arrive – depart
- Artificial – natural
- Ascent – descent
- Ask – answer
- Asleep – awake
- Attack – defend
- Bad – good
- Beautiful – ugly
- Big – small
- Bitter – sweet
- Body – soul
- Bore – amuse
- Brave – cowardly
- Busy – lazy
- Buy – sell
- Calm – excited
- Careful – careless
- Catch – miss
- Ceiling – floor
- Cheap – expensive
- Close – far
- Cold – hot
- Comedy – drama
- Complicated – simple
- Compliment – insult
- Curly – straight
- Dark – light
- Day – night
- Dead – alive
- Death – birth
- Deep – shallow
- Defeat – victory
- Defence – attack
- Defend – attack
- Delicious – awful
- Dirty – clean
- Dishonest – honest
- Distant – near
- Early – late
- Easy – difficult
- Elementary – advanced
- Emigrate – immigrate
- Emigration – immigration
- Empty – full
- Fail – pass
- False – true
- Fat – skinny
- Fiction – fact
- Fix – break
- Flat – hilly
- Float – sink
- Floor – ceiling
- Follow – lead
- Foolish – wise
- For – against
- Forbid – allow
- Foreground – background
- Forgive – blame
- Freeze – boil
- Friendly – unfriendly
- Full – empty
Opposites (G-O)
- Generous – stingy
- Gentle – rough
- Giant – dwarf
- Girl – boy
- Give – receive/ take
- Gloomy – cheerful
- Go – come
- Grief – joy
- Guilty – innocent
- Happy – sad/unhappy
- Hard – soft
- Harvest – plant
- Healthy – sick
- Heaven – hell
- Heavy – light
- High – low
- Hire – fire
- Huge – tiny
- Humid – dry
- Hungry – full
- Husband – wife
- Ignore – notice
- Ill – healthy
- Immigrate – emigrate
- Immigration – emigration
- In front of – back
- Insane – sane
- Lazy – hardworking
- Lie – truth
- Light – heavy
- Like – dislike
- Likely – unlikely
- Liquid – solid
- Lonely – crowded
- Long – short
- Loose – tight
- Lose – win
- Loser – winner
- Lost – found
- Loud – quiet
- Love – hate
- Low – high
- Major – minor
- Man – woman
- Marvelous – terrible
- Mature – immature
- Maximum – minimum
- Miss – catch/ hit
- Mix – separate
- Moderate – extreme
- Modern – ancient/ traditional
- Moist – dry
- Moon – sun
- More – less
- Most – least
- Near – distant
- Negative – affirmative
- Nephew – niece
- Never – always
- New – ancient
- Occupied – vacant
- Odd – even
- Off – on
Opposites (P-Y)
- Patient – impatient
- Pessimistic – optimistic
- Poor – wealthy
- Presence – absence
- Present – past
- Private – public
- Sad – happy
- Sadness – happiness
- Safe – dangerous
- Safety – danger
- Same – different
- Satisfaction – regret
- Satisfy – annoy
- Save – spend
- Selfish – generous
- Short – tall
- Slim – fat
- Slow – fast
- Small – big
- Soft – hard
- Sour – sweet
- Spend – earn
- Start – stop
- Started – finished
- Stay – leave
- Stiff – flexible
- Stop – go
- Straight – crooked/curly
- Strength – weakness
- Strong – weak
- Student – teacher
- Sturdy – weak
- Sunny – cloudy
- Superb – inferior
- Talkative – taciturn
- Tame – wild
- Teach – learn
- Temporary – permanent
- There – here
- Thick – thin
- Thin – thick
- Thin – fat/thick
- Tidy – messy
- Tidy – messy
- Timid – bold
- Together – apart
- Top – bottom
- Toward – away
- Tragic – comic
- Transparent – opaque
- Triumph – defeat
- True – false
- Ugly – beautiful
- Useful – useless
- Useless – useful
- Vacant – occupied
- Valley – mountain
- Vertical – horizontal
- Victory – defeat
- Warm – cool
- White – black
- Whole – part
- Wide – narrow
- Winter – summer
- Work – rest
- Yes – no
- Yesterday – tomorrow
- Young – old
Opposite Words | Infographic
Opposite Words | Infographic 1
Opposite Words | Infographic 2
Opposite Words | Infographic 3
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