Opposites: An Important List of 200+ Opposite Words in English

Last updated: July 17, 2019

Opposites! Antonyms or Opposites are words that are opposites of each other. In this lesson, you will learn common opposites in English to expand your vocabulary.

Opposites

Opposites (A-F)

  • About – exactly
  • Above – below
  • Allow – forbid
  • Already – not yet
  • Approximately – exactly
  • Argue – agree
  • Arrest – free
  • Arrival – departure
  • Arrive – depart
  • Artificial – natural
  • Ascent – descent
  • Ask – answer
  • Asleep – awake
  • Attack – defend
  • Bad – good
  • Beautiful – ugly
  • Big – small
  • Bitter – sweet
  • Body – soul
  • Bore – amuse
  • Brave – cowardly
  • Busy – lazy
  • Buy – sell
  • Calm – excited
  • Careful – careless
  • Catch – miss
  • Ceiling – floor
  • Cheap – expensive
  • Close – far
  • Cold – hot
  • Comedy – drama
  • Complicated – simple
  • Compliment – insult
  • Curly – straight
  • Dark – light
  • Day – night
  • Dead – alive
  • Death – birth
  • Deep – shallow
  • Defeat – victory
  • Defence – attack
  • Defend – attack
  • Delicious – awful
  • Dirty – clean
  • Dishonest – honest
  • Distant – near
  • Early – late
  • Easy – difficult
  • Elementary – advanced
  • Emigrate – immigrate
  • Emigration – immigration
  • Empty – full
  • Fail – pass
  • False – true
  • Fat – skinny
  • Fiction – fact
  • Fix – break
  • Flat – hilly
  • Float – sink
  • Floor – ceiling
  • Follow – lead
  • Foolish – wise
  • For – against
  • Forbid – allow
  • Foreground – background
  • Forgive – blame
  • Freeze – boil
  • Friendly – unfriendly
  • Full – empty

Opposites (G-O)

  • Generous – stingy
  • Gentle – rough
  • Giant – dwarf
  • Girl – boy
  • Give – receive/ take
  • Gloomy – cheerful
  • Go – come
  • Grief – joy
  • Guilty – innocent
  • Happy – sad/unhappy
  • Hard – soft
  • Harvest – plant
  • Healthy – sick
  • Heaven – hell
  • Heavy – light
  • High – low
  • Hire – fire
  • Huge – tiny
  • Humid – dry
  • Hungry – full
  • Husband – wife
  • Ignore – notice
  • Ill – healthy
  • Immigrate – emigrate
  • Immigration – emigration
  • In front of – back
  • Insane – sane
  • Lazy – hardworking
  • Lie – truth
  • Light – heavy
  • Like – dislike
  • Likely – unlikely
  • Liquid – solid
  • Lonely – crowded
  • Long – short
  • Loose – tight
  • Lose – win
  • Loser – winner
  • Lost – found
  • Loud – quiet
  • Love – hate
  • Low – high
  • Major – minor
  • Man – woman
  • Marvelous – terrible
  • Mature – immature
  • Maximum – minimum
  • Miss – catch/ hit
  • Mix – separate
  • Moderate – extreme
  • Modern – ancient/ traditional
  • Moist – dry
  • Moon – sun
  • More – less
  • Most – least
  • Near – distant
  • Negative – affirmative
  • Nephew – niece
  • Never – always
  • New – ancient
  • Occupied – vacant
  • Odd – even
  • Off – on

Opposites (P-Y)

  • Patient – impatient
  • Pessimistic – optimistic
  • Poor – wealthy
  • Presence – absence
  • Present – past
  • Private – public
  • Sad – happy
  • Sadness – happiness
  • Safe – dangerous
  • Safety – danger
  • Same – different
  • Satisfaction – regret
  • Satisfy – annoy
  • Save – spend
  • Selfish – generous
  • Short – tall
  • Slim – fat
  • Slow – fast
  • Small – big
  • Soft – hard
  • Sour – sweet
  • Spend – earn
  • Start – stop
  • Started – finished
  • Stay – leave
  • Stiff – flexible
  • Stop – go
  • Straight – crooked/curly
  • Strength – weakness
  • Strong – weak
  • Student – teacher
  • Sturdy – weak
  • Sunny – cloudy
  • Superb – inferior
  • Talkative – taciturn
  • Tame – wild
  • Teach – learn
  • Temporary – permanent
  • There – here
  • Thick – thin
  • Thin – thick
  • Thin – fat/thick
  • Tidy – messy
  • Tidy – messy
  • Timid – bold
  • Together – apart
  • Top – bottom
  • Toward – away
  • Tragic – comic
  • Transparent – opaque
  • Triumph – defeat
  • True – false
  • Ugly – beautiful
  • Useful – useless
  • Useless – useful
  • Vacant – occupied
  • Valley – mountain
  • Vertical – horizontal
  • Victory – defeat
  • Warm – cool
  • White – black
  • Whole – part
  • Wide – narrow
  • Winter – summer
  • Work – rest
  • Yes  – no
  • Yesterday – tomorrow
  • Young – old

Opposite Words | Infographic

Opposite Words | Infographic 1

Opposites: An Important List of 200+ Opposite Words in English

Opposite Words | Infographic 2

Opposites: An Important List of 200+ Opposite Words in English

Opposite Words | Infographic 3

Opposites: An Important List of 200+ Opposite Words in English


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