English words can have more than one meaning. Some words are simple, with one meaning. Other words have opposites, meanings that go in the opposite direction. Learning these simple opposite words can help your English become more accurate and fluent. Let’s explore some common simple opposite words!
ESL students, did you know there are many English words with opposite meanings? These are called simple opposite words. Learning these can help improve your fluency and accuracy when speaking English.
What is the opposite word?
An opposite word is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. For example, the words hot and cold are opposites. So are the words big and small.
When two words have opposite meanings, we call them antonyms.
How kids can learn opposite words?
One way to learn opposite words is to think of things that go together.
For example,
- we eat food and drink water.
- We wear clothes and take them off.
- We live in houses and work in offices.
When you think of things that go together like this, it can help you remember the opposites.
Let’s try another example!!!
If you think of a cat, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it’s a dog. Or maybe it’s milk.
Cats and dogs are opposites, and so are cats and milk.
Here are some more examples of simple opposite words:
| natural – artificial |
| brief – long |
| man – woman |
| awake – asleep |
| on – off |
| clever – foolish |
| shiny – dull |
| hard – easy |
| tiny – huge |
| laugh – cry |
| married – single |
| bad – good |
| supporter – opponent |
| in – out |
| open – closed |
| closed – open |
| wet – dry |
| regret – satisfaction |
| entrance – exit |
| messy – neat |
| before – after |
| top – bottom |
| light – dark |
| happy – sad |
| unity – division |
| little – big |
| funny – serious |
| special – general |
| honest – dishonest |
| modern – ancient |
| blank – completed |
| wide – narrow |
| pretty – ugly |
| employed – unemployed |
| thick – thin |
| junior – senior |
| many – few |
| awful – excellent |
| sunny – cloudy |
| import – export |
| visitor – host |
| remember – forget |
| even – odd |
| together – separate |
| left – right |
| tall – short |
| interesting – boring |
| more – less |
| boy – girl |
| tight – loose |
| kind – cruel |
| victory – defeat |
| rich – wealthy |
| far – near |
| peace – war |
| difficult – easy |
| poverty – wealth |
| dim – bright |
| start – finish |
| hot – cold |
| sharp – blunt |
| ally – enemy |
| up – down |
| long – short |
| full – empty |
| visible – invisible |
| rich – poor |
| fancy – plain |
| night – day |
| cheap – expensive |
| single – married |
| healthy – sick |
| truth – lie |
| liquid – solid |
| give – take |
| skinny – fat |
| heavy – light |
| opposite – same |
| deep – shallow |
| normal – strange |
| child – adult |
| major – minor |
| ask – reply |
| sweet – sour |
| inside – outside |
| useful – useless |
| rude – polite |
| love – hate |
| fast – slow |
| amateur – professional |
| youth – adulthood |
| powerful – weak |
| early – late |
| sunny – cloudy |
| humid – dry |