Antonym
Antonyms are word pairs that are opposite in meaning, such as
hot and
cold,
fat and
thin, and
up and
down. Words may have different antonyms, depending on the meaning. Both
long and
tall are antonyms of
short.
Antonyms are of two types:
- gradable antonyms are pairs that express relationships in a continuum, such as up and down
- complementary antonyms are pairs that express an either/or relationship, such as dead or alive.
Although the word
antonym was only coined by
philologistss in the
19th century, such relationships are a fundamental part of the language, in contrast to
synonyms, which are a result of history and drawing of fine distinctions, or homonyms, which are mostly
etymological accidents or coincidences.
See also