Language: grammar and vocabulary

Opposites and near-opposites

Give the opposite of a word, and tell an opposite from a word that means the same.

Two words are opposites when one means the other way round. Day and night are opposites, and so are push and pull.

Remember

Words that mean the other way round are called antonyms.

Watch out

An opposite is not the same as a word that means the same. Light and dark are opposites, but light and bright are not.

Worked example

What is the opposite of 'win'?

  1. Think about what happens when you win a game.

    The opposite has to turn the ending the other way round.

Try it together

Let us find three opposites.

Each answer is one word.

    1.Is 'empty' or 'hollow' the opposite of 'full'? Write one word.

    Have a go

    What is the opposite of 'open'?

    Ready to practise?

    Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.

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