+1000 Opposite Words in English, Antonyms List! If you’re an ESL student looking to improve your English vocabulary, one great way to do so is by learning opposite words, or “antonyms.” This blog post will provide you with a list of over 1000 opposite words in English, organized by categories such as positive/negative, common/uncommon, and more. With this handy resource, you’ll be able to expand your English language skills in no time!
What are the opposite words?
The opposite words are the words that have the opposite meaning of the given word. For example, if the given word is ‘big’, then the opposite word will be ‘small’. If the given word is ‘happy’, then the opposite word will be ‘sad’.
Some common English opposite words are:
Positive/Negative: good/bad, happy/sad, right/wrong
Common/Uncommon: common/uncommon, simple/complex
Observed/Unobserved: seen/unseen, known/unknown
Pair Words: man/woman, night/day, mother/father
Opposite Words in English (Antonyms)
- angel / devil
- buy / sell
- enter / leave
- forbid / allow
- good / bad
- humane / cruel
- lazy / active
- man / woman
- often / seldom
- rich / poor
- silly / intelligent
- urban / rural
- wedding / divorce
- alive / dead
- bad luck / good luck
- break / fix
- compliment / insult
- dead / alive
- down / up
- free / arrest
- laugh / cry
- natural / artificial
- now / then
- polite / rude
- quick / slow
- serious / funny
- alike / different
- ancient / modern
- animal / human
- better / worse
- cellar / attic
- cowardly / brave
- day / night
- drama / comedy
- equal / different
- exit / entrance
- fortune / bad luck
- heat / cold
- here / there
- ignore / notice
- less / more
- male / female
- men / women
- nice / awful
- off / on
- question / answer
- raise / lower
- silent / noisy
- special / general
- up / down
- vacant / occupied
- weak / powerful
- affirmative / negative
- awful / nice
- come / go
- fat / slim
- gentleman / lady
- human / animal
- interrupt / continue
- loud / quiet
- narrow / broad
- save / spend
- start / stop
- west / east
- allow / forbid
- cry / laugh
- divorce / marry
- evening / morning
- follow / lead
- happiness / sadness
- huge / tiny
- love / hate
- professional / amateur
- shallow / deep
- solid / liquid
- trust / suspect
- violent / gentle
- below / above
- child / adult
- create / destroy
- dirty / clean
- empty / full
- few / many
- hot / cold
- morning / evening
- past / future
- public / private
- safe / dangerous
- shelter / exposure
- suburb / centre
- artificial / natural
- boring / exciting
- close / open
- dawn / dusk
- divide / unite
- even / odd
- happy / sad
- marry / divorce
- occupied / vacant
- particular / general
- rear / front
- rude / polite
- soft / hard
- active / lazy
- beauty / ugliness
- divorce / marriage
- export / import
- forget / remember
- hard / easy
- in / out
- lie / stand
- nephew / niece
- protection / attack
- salt / sugar
- strict / gentle
- unite / divide
- add / subtract
- attack / defend
- birth / death
- certainly / probably
- domestic / foreign
- good luck / bad luck
- intelligent / silly
- live / die
- mess / order
- near / distant
- plenty / lack
- stupid / clever
- wet / dry
- awake / asleep
- distant / near
- everything / nothing
- floor / ceiling
- grown/up / child
- husband / wife
- leave / arrive
- much / little
- presence / absence
- rough / smooth
- stand / sit
- true / false
- well/ ill
- big / small
- cloudy / clear
- dark / light
- division / unity
- entrance / exit
- flat / hilly
- in front of / back
- negative / affirmative
- poor / rich
- rainy / sunny
- seldom / often
- simple / complicated
- sunny / cloudy
- answer / ask
- back / in front of
- broad / narrow
- cold / heat
- deep / shallow
- fail / succeed
- hungry / thirsty
- lose / win
- monarchy / republic
- occasionally / frequently
- parents / children
- right / wrong
- wealth / poverty
- adult / child
- always / never
- beginning / end
- busy / lazy
- comedy / drama
- end / begin
- hate / enjoy
- late / early
- many / few
- native / foreigner
- not yet / already
- pull / push
- under / over
- apart / together
- delicious / awful
- emigrate / immigrate
- false / true
- fresh / old/stale
- high / deep
- innocent / guilty
- maximum / minimum
- reduce / increase
- slim / fat
- stranger / native
- visitor / host
- whisper / scream
- already / not yet
- boy / girl
- emigration / immigration
- finish / begin
- general / particular
- hopeful / desperate
- lack / abundance
- lovely / terrible
- nothing / everything
- regret / satisfaction
- sharp / blunt
- ugliness / beauty
- war / peace
- ancestor / descendant
- beautiful / ugly
- careful / careless
- continue / interrupt
- deny / admit
- east / west
- funny / serious
- like / hate
- niece / nephew
- open / closed
- private / public
- refuse / agree
- shout / whisper
- answer / question
- behind / in front of
- changeable / constant
- cruel / human
- destruction / construction
- end / beginning
- give / take
- loser / winner
- normal / strange
- out / in
- pupil / teacher
- rest / work
- single / married
- amuse / bore
- argue / agree
- bore / amuse
- clean / dirty
- dangerous / safe
- exciting / boring
- horizontal / vertical
- light / heavy
- mend / break
- none of / a lot of
- order / mess
- remember / forget
- voluntary / compulsory
- agree / refuse
- antonym / synonym
- black / white
- danger / security
- forward / backward
- hell / heaven
- interesting / boring
- light / dark
- melt / freeze
- notice / ignore
- sink / rise
- ugly / beautiful
- build / destroy
- cool / warm
- descendant / ancestor
- elementary / advanced
- extreme / moderate
- freeze / melt
- intentional / accidental
- north / south
- push / pull
- right / left
- sick / healthy
- soul / body
- valley / mountain
- above / below
- all / none
- be interested in / bore
- constant / changeable
- finish / start
- guest / host
- ill / healty
- last / first
- major / minor
- never / always
- separate / connect
- strong / weak
- annoy / satisfy
- autumn / spring
- brave / cowardly
- depart / arrive
- gentle / violent
- humid / dry
- left / right
- lower / raise
- miss / hit
- other / same
- sour / sweet
- village / town
- arrive / depart
- begin / end
- careless / careful
- consonant / vowel
- departure / arrival
- female / male
- import / export
- married / divorced
- nasty / nice
- on / off
- permit / forbid
- sad / happy
- white / black
- approximately / exactly
- centre / outskirts
- exactly / approximately
- form / destroy
- heaven / hell
- immigrate / emigrate
- lead / follow
- mean / generous
- ordinary / special
- rural / urban
- slow / fast
- victory / defeat
- wide / narrow
- accidental / intentional
- compulsory / voluntary
- desperate / hopeful
- easy / difficult
- far / near
- full / empty
- healthy / ill
- let / forbid
- peace / war
- safety / danger
- shut / open
- strange / normal
- upstairs / downstairs
- admit / deny
- ancestor / descendant
- before / after
- courageous / cowardly
- for / against
- harvest / plant
- inside / outside
- lend / borrow
- master / servant
- noisy / quiet
- short / long
- sugar / salt
- advanced / elementary
- backward / forward
- blunt / sharp
- closed / open
- damage / repair
- different / alike
- foreign / domestic
- kind / cruel
- more / less
- noon / midnight
- pass / fail
- protect / attack
- scream / whisper
- ceiling / floor
- cry / whisper
- die / live
- enemy / friend
- fear / courage
- future / past
- lady / gentleman
- odd / even
- receive / send
- sadness / happiness
- sit / stand
- start / finish
- vowel / consonant
- after / before
- bitter / sweet
- dull / interesting
- fast / slow
- frequently / occasionally
- heavy / light
- include / exclude
- little / much
- nobody / everybody
- quiet / loud
- send / receive
- subtract / add
- vertical / horizontal
- absence / presence
- against / for
- background / foreground
- bottom / top
- clever / stupid
- early / late
- guilty / innocent
- junior / senior
- low / high
- moon / sun
- no / yes
- present / past
- sun / moon
- about / exactly
- arrival / departure
- bad luck / fortune
- calm / excited
- devil / angel
- giant / tiny
- immigration / emigration
- life / death
- marriage / divorce
- mountain / valley
- partial / total
- stop / start
- water / land
- children / parents
- daughter / son
- difficult / easy
- everybody / nobody
- first / final
- go / come
- land / take off
- opponent / supporter
- reply / question
- security / danger
- some / many
- student / teacher
- wealthy / poor
- abundance / lack
- attack / defense
- best / worst
- cheap / expensive
- courage / fear
- dictatorship / republic
- fix / break
- in front of / back
- midnight / noon
- new / ancient
- outside / inside
- powerful / weak
- satisfy / annoy
- attic / cellar
- brother / sister
- complicated / simple
- defence / attack
- divorced / married
- exclude / include
- health / disease
- minimum / maximum
- open / closed
- pleasant / awful
- reply / ask
- same / different
- south / north
- accept / refuse
- asleep / awake
- clear / cloudy
- exposure / shelter
- friend / enemy
- hit / miss
- insult / compliment
- liquid / solid
- modern / ancient
- part / whole
- satisfaction / regret
- son / daughter
- waste / save
- cold / hot
- defend / attack
- downstairs / upstairs
- expensive / cheap
- foreground / background
- handsome / ugly
- learn / teach
- over / under
- rough / gentle
- servant / master
- spring / autumn
- summer / winter
- whole / part
- amateur / professional
- ascent / descent
- body / soul
- death / birth
- front / rear
- hopeless / hopeful
- large / small
- long / short
- miss / catch
- old / modern
- smooth / rough
- useful / useless
- ask / answer
- destroy / build
- enjoy / hate
- final / first
- generous / mean
- host / guest
- land / water
- moderate / extreme
- plant / harvest
- republic / dictatorship
- sometimes / often
- succeed / fail
- warm / cool
- bad / good
- catch / miss
- construction / destruction
- descent / ascent
- dusk / dawn
- failure / success
- high / low
- minor / major
- outskirts / centre
- pretty / ugly
- rise / sink
- senior / junior
- stand / lie
- afraid / brave
- correct / wrong
- disease / health
- ending / beginning
- find / lose
- girl / boy
- hilly / flat
- little / big
- poverty / wealth
- sell / buy
- sister / brother
- success / failure
- useless / useful
- borrow / lend
- connect / separate
- defeat / victory
- dry / humid
- excited / calm
- foreigner / native
- increase / reduce
- night / day
- probably / certainly
- repair / damage
- set free / arrest
- small / big
- unity / division
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