ANTONYMS
Antonyms are words which have almost opposite meanings. Most words can have one or more antonyms.
Word(s) Antonym(s)
1. Abundant Scarce, insufficient
2. Accept Decline, refuse
3. Accept Deny
4. Backward Forward
5. Bent/crooked Straight
6. Calm Windy, troubled
7. Cheap Expensive
8. Clever Stupid
9. Dangerous Safe
10. Decline Accept, increase
11. Decrease Increase
12. Easy Hard, difficult
13. Empty Full
14. East West
15. Early Late
16. Famous Notorious
17. Fail Succeed
18. Feeble Strong
19. Fast Slow, tardy
20. Generous Stingy, tight-fisted
21. Giant Tiny, dwarf
22. Get Give
23. Harsh Mild
24. Haves Have-nots
25. Ill Healthy, well, sound
26. Landlord Tenant
27. Laugh Cry
28. Lazy Industrious
29. Mad Happy, sane
30. Maximum Minimum
31. Nadir Zenith, peak, apex
32. Narrow Wide, broad
33. Neat Messy, untidy
34. Odd Even, normal
35. Obedient Disobedient
36. Obnoxious Harmless, benign
37. Plentiful Scarce, insufficient
38. Peace War
39. Permanent Temporary, transient
40. Qualified Unqualified
41. Rapid Slow, tardy
42. Rare Common, ubiquitous
43. Scatter Collect, gather
44. Shallow Deep
45. Shrink Grow, expand
46. Serious Trivial, insignificant
47. Tamed Wild
48. Tall Short
49. Transparent Opaque
50. Useful Useless
51. Up Down
52. Vanish Appear
53. Vacant Occupied
54. Virtue Vice
55. Wax Wane, decline
56. Wisdom Folly, stupidity
57. Weak Strong
58. Yes No
59. Ying Yang
60. Zenith Nadir, ebb, base
61. Zip Unzip
62. Displayed Concealed, hid
63. Unrealistic Practical, feasible
64. Adulterated Pure, unadulterated
65. Oblivious Conscious, aware
66. Evasive Clear, direct
67. Coarse Neat, smooth
68. Rewarded Penalized, punished
69. Rewarded Indigenous, local
70. Vigor Lethargy, weakness
71. Magnanimous Stingy, tight-fisted
72. Hostility Truce, armistice
73. Hostile Amiable, friendly
74. Authentic Fake, phony
75. Modern Ancient, primitive
76. Scoundrel Hero, protagonist
77. Nomad Settled
78. Generous Selfish, niggardly
79. Reluctant Eager, willing
80. Artificial Natural
81. Nationalism Sectionalism, ethnicism
82. Ephemeral Permanent, eternal
83. Malignant Benign, harmless
84. Ascetic Hedonistic, epicurean
85. Laconic Loquacious, verbose
86. Sardonic Complimentary
87. Exoteric Esoteric, exclusive
88. Munificent Stingy, selfish
89. Profligacy Shrewdness, prudence
90. Wasteful Thrifty, economical
91. Entangle Extricate, free
92. Effable Ineffable, indescribable
93. Timorous Dauntless, bold
94. Tumultuous Orderly, calm
95. Abstemious Rapacious, greedy
96. Lax Strict, stern
97. Covert Overt, known
98. Pious Profane, impious
99. Drab Interesting, bright
100.Useless Priceless, invaluable
EXERCISE 2 (Antonyms)
1. The Governor presented his report with uncommon vigor (a) tension (b) dynamism (c) lethargy (d) verve
2. The edges of the dining table are coarse. (a) randy (b) smooth (c) rough (d) crisp
3. His answers to the questions posed by the veteran journalist were evasive (a) indirect (b) inscrutable (c) clear (d) muffled
4. He is oblivious of his surroundings. (a) conspicuous (b) conscious (c) ignorant (d) unmindful
5. The plenipotentiary rewarded his retinue of staff for their dedication to duties (a) eulogized (b) applauded (c) penalized (d) commended
6. While Paul is tight- fisted Paul is________ (a) parsimonious (b) egoistical (c) liberal (d) artful
7. After two decades of hostility, the two warring communities called for a ________ (a) break (b) stop (c) truce (d) skirmish
8. The fired General Manager has been _______ (a) refurbished (b) reinstated (c) regurgitated (d) remonstrated
9. In the western world, Monogamy is the order of the day, while _______ is very common in the Middle East and Africa (a) celibacy (b) polygamy (c) exogamy (d) endogamy
10. Mr Kunle is always eager to welcome visitors but his wife is rather _______ to visitors (a) keen (b) ardent (c) indifferent (d) zealous
11. The wife of the former Governor died of malignant tumor (a) deadly (b) fatal (c) abrasive (d) benign.
12. Journalists are not expected to divulge the sources of their information (a) reveal (b) conceal (c) condense (d) appropriate
13. The school management adopted an unrealistic approach in resolving the hydra- headed issue (a) a popular (b) a concrete (c) an abrasive (d) a practical
14. I took the pills to lessen my pains (a) alleviate (b) ameliorate (c) aggregate (d) reduce
15. The filling station was shut down for selling adulterated fuels (a) concentrated (b) condensed (c) pure (d) contaminated.
16. The social critic has warned the government to desist from making policies that favor the elite at the expense of the _______ (a) privileged (b) bourgeoisie (c) masses (d) opulent
17. Monks are trained to be ascetic (a) austere (b) frugal (c) epicurean (d) modest
18. He adores dogs but has _______ for cats (a) flair (b) sympathy (c) aversion (d) empathy
19. His thesis borders on the arcane (a) exoteric (b) esoteric (c) disdainful (d) bashful
20. Napoleon was a gallant warrior (a) brave (b) timid (c) noxious (d) maverick
21. His gleefulness was as a result of team’s triumph (a) excitement (b) elation (c) gloom (d) extrapolation
22. The malocclusion was caused by a terrible accident he was involved in four weeks ago. (a) misalignment (b) alignment (c) altercation (d) sanity
23. The samples of the wears were displayed on the mannequin (a) confined (b) exhibited (c) revealed (d) exposed
24. Lagos is sparsely populated (a) scantily (b) densely (c) mildly (d) meagerly
25. The ten-year old boy has an inordinate ambition of becoming the president in two years’ time (a) an excessive (b) an unreasonable (c) a modest (d) an extreme
26. The difference is imperceptible (a) significant (b) negligible (c) insignificant (d) fractional
27. The remark is limey (a) derogatory (b) complimentary (c) sardonic (d) enervating
28. Kemisola was reprimanded for her role in the student’s riot (a) rebuke (b) lampooned (c) commended (d) beaten
29. She cited apt examples (a) appropriate (b) suitable (c) irrelevant (d) inscrutable
30. He was impoverished by government’s policies (a) pauperized (b) enriched (c) endowed
