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