English Vocabulary for learners

ANTONYMS or OPPOSITES

Words that have opposite meanings.

An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another word.
For example, ‘cold’ is the antonym of ‘hot’; 'stop' is the opposite of 'go'.
The list of antonyms below, with an example of use, will help English learners improve their vocabulary.

Note: Antonyms can also be formed using negative prefixes. See here.

WORD	ANTONYM	EXAMPLE
above	below	- The cups are on the shelf above the sink. - The washing-up liquid is below the sink.
absent	present	- Arthur is not here today. He's absent. - The teacher will be present at the graduation ceremony.
abundant	scarce	- Jobs are abundant for well-qualified applicants. - The weather has been so hot this year that water is scarce.
accept	refuse	- The customer accepts/refuses the conditions.
accidental	intentional	- He didn't intend to break the window. It was accidental. - He wanted to break the window. It was intentional.
add	subtract	- An amount of tax must be added to the bill. - A mistaken amount was substracted from the bill
admit	deny	- Bobby said he stole the ball. He admitted it. - Sam said he didn't steal the ball. He denied it.
affirmative	negative	- I got the job! The reply was affirmative. - I'm disappointed. I received a negative reply.
after	before	- My guitar lesson is after lunch, at 2 pm. - The tennis match is before lunch, at 11 am.
agree	refuse	- He didn't agree to go so he refused to leave.
alive	dead	- The man was alive/dead when the doctor arrived.
all	none	- All of the candidates were interviewed. - None of them were hired.
allow	forbid	- Food is allowed but smoking isforbidden.
always	never	- I'll always love you. - I'll never forget the day I met you.
amateur	professional	- He's still an amateur golfer. He hasn't turned professional yet.
amuse	bore	- An entertainer should amuse the audience, not bore them to tears!
approximately	exactly	- The journey will take approximately an hour. - The journey will take exactly 48 minutes and 30 seconds.
argue	agree	- They argue constantly. They can never agree on anything!
arrive	depart	- The train departs at 10.15 am and arrives at 2 pm.
artificial	natural	- I don't buy products with artificial flavouring. - I prefer natural flavours.
attack	defend	- Enemy forces attacked the harbour. - Our troups defended it.
awake	asleep	- I can hear noise. The baby is awake. - There is no noise. The baby is still asleep.
back	front	- The back of the blouse is not the same colour as the front.
bad	good	- Pedro is a bad student. He must work harder. - José got good results in English. He is very pleased.
beautiful	ugly	- The actress is very beautiful. - The wound left an ugly scar on the man's face.
before	after	- The tennis match is before lunch, at 11 am. - My guitar lesson isafter lunch, at 2 pm.
begin	end	- The film begins at 7 pm and ends at 8.30 pm.
below	above	- The bookshelves are above the television. - The dvds are below it.
better	worse	- The patient is still the same condition, neither better nor worse.
big	small	- My boss drives a big car but my car is small.
bitter	sweet	- We had a choice between sweet tea or bitter lemon juice.
blunt	sharp	- This knife is blunt. I need a sharp one.
borrow	lend	- You borrow something that someone lends you.
bottom	top	- Take the plates on the bottom shelf and put them on the top shelf.
brave	cowardly	- You were very brave to defend the group. - A cowardly person runs away when faced with danger.
broad	narrow	- He has a broad forehead and a narrow chin.
cheap	expensive	- This shop sells cheap/expensive clothes.
cheerful	sad	- Sam looked happy and cheerful, but his wife seemed sad.
clean	dirty	- When their parents returned, the house was clean/dirty.
cold	hot	- We need to heat the soup because it's cold. - Be careful! The plate is very hot.
come	go	- Visitors to the museum come and go all day.
complicated	simple	- Some legal terms can be complicated and difficult to understand. - The terms of the agreement were simple and clear.
cool	warm	- In autumn you should bring clothes for cool weather. - In spring the weather is often warm.
correct	incorrect	- His answer was correct/incorrect.
cowardly	brave	- You were very brave to defend the group. - It was cowardly of Sam to run away.
curly	straight	- Her hair is curly/straight.
cruel	kind	- People should not be cruel to others. They should be kind.
damage	repair	- If you damage anything you will have to repair it.
dangerous	safe	- Be careful. The building is in a very dangerous area. - Don't worry.We live in a safe part of the city.
dark	light	- What colour is your car? It's dark/light blue.
depart	arrive	- The train departs at 10.15 am andarrives at 2 pm.
despair	hope	- There is no work here. Tom despairs of finding a job. - Andy has graduated and hopes to find a job soon.
different	similar	- All the houses are different. None of them are similar. - The houses are all similar to each other. They are alike.
difficult	easy	- The English test was quite difficult/easy.
dry	wet	- I washed my sweater but it's not dry yet. It's still wet.
early	late	- Jack had to leave at 6 am so he had an early breakfast. - I didn't have to work so I had a late breakfast.
fail	succeed	- He was afraid he would fail but he succeeded.
false	true	- Some details were false but the main story was true.
far	near	- We live far from the sea but near the mountains.
fast	slow	- She usually walks at a fast pace. - Business is slow at this time of the year.
fat	thin	- The shopkeeper is overweight. He's quite fat. - His wife is the opposite. She's very thin.
find	lose	- You try to find something when you lose it.
follow	lead	- The teacher leads the group and the children follow her.
forbid	allow	- Food is allowed but smoking is forbidden.
forget	remember	- I'm losing my memory. I often forget things. - I've got a good memory. I remember names easily.
freeze	melt	- You freeze food in the freezer. - Ice-cream will melt in the sun.
full	empty	- This bottle of milk is empty. - The one in the fridge is full.
gentle	violent	- They walked along the beach enjoying the gentle breeze. - A violent storm broke out in the evening.
good	bad	- Maria got good results in English. She is very pleased. - Carla is a bad student. She must work harder
happy	sad	- Jimmy was sad leaving New York, but he was happy to see his family again.
hard	soft	- He slept in a hard bed but the pillow was soft.
hardworking	lazy	- Joe works well. His colleagues say he is hardworking. - Mike does as little as possible. He's lazy.
heavy	light	- My suitcase is very heavy. I can't lift it. - My suitcase is very light. I can carry it.
hope	despair	- Andy has graduated and hopes to find a job soon. - There is no work here. Tom despairs of finding a job.
hot	cold	- Be careful! The plate is very hot. - We need to heat the soup because it'scold.
huge	tiny	- They live in a huge house. - In comparison, ours seems tiny.
intelligent	stupid	- Intelligent people understand quickly. - Stupid people are slow to understand things.
interesting	boring	- Tom found the conference quite interesting. - Alex left before the end because he found it boring.
liquid	solid	- Food can be liquid or solid.
long	short	- The bride wore a long dress. - Her mother's dress was short .
major	minor	- It's not a major issue, just a minor problem.
married	single	- My sister is married but my brother is still single.
miss	catch	- I don't want to miss the bus. If we hurry we'll catch it.
modern	traditional	- Her dress was modern but the ceremony was traditional.
negative	affirmative	- I'm disappointed. I received a negative reply. - I got the job! The reply was affirmative.
new	old	- The television set is old. We're going to buy a new one.
noisy	quiet	- The boys are too noisy. Tell them to be quiet!
polite	impolite	- The children are impolite. - They should learn to be polite.
poor	rich	- Rich people can buy what they want. - Poor people have to be careful with their money.
proper	improper	- For the interview wear a proper dress, not jeans! - The boy was punished for behaving in an improper way.
quiet	noisy	- We live in a quiet area - It's not noisy at all.
remember	forget	- I've got a good memory. I remember names easily. - I'm losing my memory. I often forget things
right	wrong	- We took the right road and arrived on time. - The others went the wrong way and got lost.
rural	urban	- Rural areas generally have poorer public transport than urban areas.
safe	dangerous	- The children can play here. It's a safe place. - Don't play near the road. It's too dangerous.
short	long	- Eva wore a long dress but Amanda wore ashort one.
shout	whisper	- The policeman shouted a warning. - People whisper at the cinema so as not to disturb others.
similar	different	- The buildings are all similar to each other. They are alike. - All the houses are different. None of them are similar.
simple	complicated	- The terms of the agreement were simple and clear. - Some legal terms can be complicated and difficult to understand.
single	married	- My brother is still single but my sister is married.
small	big	- This bag is too small. - We need a big bag to go shopping.
soft	hard	- She likes a soft pillow but prefers a hard mattress.
traditional	modern	- The ceremony was traditional but her dress was modern.
true	false	- The story was true but some of the details were false.
well	unwell	- My grandfather is in good health. He's well. - My grandmother has the 'flu. She's unwell at the moment.
whisper	shout	- People whisperat the cinema so as not to disturb others. - The policeman shouted a warning.
wrong	right	- He didn't understand me because I used the wrong word. - I used a dictionary to find the right word.

See also: homonyms Ι synonyms Ι comparative table

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