5/24/2018 Antonym - Definition and Examples of Antonyms and Antonymy in English

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9/11/13 antonym - definition and examples of antonyms and antonymy in English

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By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide

antonym

Definition:

A word having a meaningopposite to that of another wo rd. (See

"Three Types of Antonyms," below.)

Antonymis the antonym of synonym.Antonymyis the sense

relation that exists between words which are opposite in meaning.

Adjective: antonymous.

Antonymyis found most commonly (though not exclusively) among adjectives.

See also:

Etymology:

Introduced by C.J. Smith in the book Synonyms and Antonyms(1867). From the Greek, "counter name"

Examples and Observations:

Hypernymand Hyponym

Merism

Miranym

Name That -nym: A Brief Introduction to Words and Names

Name That -nym: A Matching Quiz

Squish

Vocabulary Builder #1: Antonyms

"You forgetwhat you want to rememberand you remember what you want to forget."

(Cormac McCarthy, The Road. Knopf, 2006)

"You always pass failureon the way to success."

(attributed to Mickey Rooney)

"Some have been thought to be brave

because they were afraidto run away."

(attributed to Thomas Fuller)

"This above all: to thine own self be true,And it must follow, as the nightthe day,

Thou canst not then be falseto any man.

Farewe ll: my blessing season this in thee!"

(Polonius in Act One, scene 3 of Hamletby William Shakespeare)

"Winningmay not be everything, but losinghas little to recommend it.

(Dianne Feinstein in Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate, by Barbara Boxer et al. William Morrow, 2000)

"Every day I remind myself that my innerand outerlife are based on the labors of other men, livingand dead, and that I must exert myself in ord

to givein the same measure as I have receivedand am still receiving."

(Albert Einstein, The World As I See It, 1931)

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Pronunciation: AN-ti-nim

"If speakingis s ilver, then listeningis gold."

(Turkish proverb)

Three Types of Antonyms

"Linguists identify three types of antonymy: (1) Gradable antonyms, which operate on a continuum: (very) big, (very) small. Such pairs often occu

binomial phrases with and: (blow) hot and cold, (search) high and low. (2) Complementary antonyms, which express an e ither/or relationship: dead

alive, maleor female. (3) Converseor relational antonyms, expressing reciprocity: borrowor lend, buyor sell, wifeor husband."

(Tom McArthur, "Antonym." The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford Univ. Press, 1992)

(1) Gradable Antonyms

"Gradable antonymsinclude pairs like the following:

beautiful - ugly

expensive - cheap

fast - slow

hot - cold

increase - decrease

long - short

love - hate

rich - poor

swee t - sour

wide- narrow

These pa irs are called gradab le antonyms because they do not represent an either-or relation but rather a more-less relation. The wo rds can be

viewed as terms at the end-points of a continuum or gradient. The more/less relation is evident in a number of ways: the terms allow compariso

e.g. 'My arm is longer/shorter than yours,' 'I love a good book more than a good meal'; the adjectives can be modified by 'intensifying'adverbs,

very long, extremely hot, extraordinarily beautiful."

(Howard Jackson and Etienne Z Amvela, Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. Continuum, 2000)

(2) Complementary Antonyms

"Complementary antonymsare another subtype of antonymy: if you are one, you cannot be the other; these are 'absolute' opposites . That is,

you are dead, you cannot a lso be a live; if you are asleep, you are not awake, and so on. Similar pairs of this sort include legal/illegaland

beginning/end."

(Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Wadsworth, 2013)

(3) Converse or Relational Antonyms

"The pairs above:below, before:after, precede:follow, buy:sell, and lend:borrowexemplify this category. Converses are sometimes called relational

opposites . They all express relationships between two (or more) people or things. . . . Take, for instance, buy and sell: Brian sold the car to Micha

and Michael bought the car from Brianboth indicate that a particular transaction has taken place. But the first sentence highlights Brian's role in t

proceedings, while the second focuses on Michael."

(N. E. Collinge,An Encyclopaedia of Language. Routledge, 1990)

Antonymy in Everyday Life

"Antonymyis a key feature of everyday life. Should further evidence be required, try visiting a public lavatory without checking which is the 'gen

and which is the 'ladies.' On your way out, ignore the instructions which tell you whe ther to 'push' or 'pull' the door. And once outside, pay no

attention to whether traffic lights are telling you to 'stop' or 'go.' At best, you will end up looking very foolish; at worst, you will end up dead.

"Antonymy holds a place in society which other sense relations simply do not occupy. Whether or not the re exists a 'general human tendency to

categorize experience in terms of dichotomous contrast' (Lyons 1977: 277) is not easily gauged, but, either way, our exposure to antonymy is

immeasurable: we memorise 'opposites ' in childhood, encounte r them throughout our daily lives, and possibly even use antonymy as a cognitive

device to organise human experience."

(Steven Jones,Antonymy: A Corpus-Based Perspective. Routledge, 2002)

"The opposite of love is no t hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's

indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.

(Elie Wiesel)

Top Related Searches Oxford Univ Press Tom Mcarthur Mickey Rooney Oxford Companion Antonymy Sense Relations

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