CDS English · Vocabulary
Antonyms: how to find the opposite
Fix the word's meaning and its charge, strike the options that mean the same, then pick the one option that runs the other way.
Why this matters
Most CDS English papers carry a block of antonym items, usually ten, each a single word underlined in a sentence. The words rarely repeat from paper to paper, so a word list alone will not carry you. The same few checks settle almost every item, and they also protect you from the traps the options are built around.
Concept 1 of 4: Strike out the three lookalikes
An antonym item is a synonym item turned round. The examiner usually fills three options with words that MEAN THE SAME as the underlined word, because a hurried reader ticks the first familiar match. So find the three that agree and strike them together. The one left standing should point the other way.
Definition
- Say the meaning of the underlined word in two or three plain words, using the sentence.
- Name its charge. Most words lean one way: positive (good, pleasant, approving: friendly, brave) or negative (bad, unpleasant, disapproving: hostile, cowardly). A neutral word has a direction instead: big or small, start or stop, join or split.
- Reverse it. The antonym has the opposite charge or direction, and it is about the same idea.
- Strike the lookalikes. If three options mean the same as the word, or the same as each other, none of them can be the single answer. Strike all three.
- Check the survivor in the sentence: it should turn the meaning of the sentence round.
Words met in this pattern:
- soggy (wet through) → dry · 2018 (II)
- fanatical (extreme and intolerant in belief) → moderate · 2018 (I)
- ephemeral (lasting a very short time) → everlasting · 2026 (I)
- belligerent (hostile, eager to fight) → amiable · 2024 (II)
- mutinous (rebelling against authority) → obedient · 2024 (II)
- brevity (shortness, using few words) → verbosity · 2023 (I)
Worked example
Choose the word opposite in meaning to the underlined word. They lived in an opulent house. (a) lavish (b) luxurious (c) shabby (d) sumptuous
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2024 · CDS (II) 2024 — English · Q3Easy
Example 1 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Method
Directions: opposite in meaning to the underlined word
His behaviour was quite belligerent.
Different is not opposite
An option can have nothing to do with the word without being its opposite. For 'soggy' (wet through), 'hot' is different, but 'dry' is the opposite. Ask: is this the same idea, turned round?
Ticking the synonym out of habit
The antonym block often comes straight after the synonym block, and the eye is still hunting for a match. The three same-meaning options are placed there for exactly that reader. Read the word opposite in the directions before you start the block.
Concept 2 of 4: Match the sense and the part of speech
The opposite has to fit the same slot in the sentence. If the underlined word is a noun, the answer is a noun; if it is a verb, the answer is a verb. And a word with several meanings has only one meaning in this sentence. The answer must reverse that one.
Definition
- Part of speech. A noun names a thing or a quality (courage, scarcity). An adjective describes a noun (brave, scarce). A verb is an action (admit, delay). A preposition links words (during, barring). An -ing word can act as a noun (Swimming is fun).
- Match the form. Find the opposite idea first, then pick the option in the same part of speech. An option with the right idea in the wrong form is a deliberate trap.
- Find the sense. Ask which meaning the sentence uses. 'Particular' can mean 'one specific' or 'fussy about details'. 'Condensation' can mean 'vapour turning into water' or 'shortening a text'. Reverse only the meaning in front of you.
- Specialist words keep their specialist sense. In a medical sentence, 'benign' means 'not dangerous'. In a sentence about church and state, 'temporal' means 'worldly'.
Words met in this pattern:
- activity (noun: being busy and at work) → indolence · 2018 (I)
- erudition (noun: deep learning) → ignorance · 2017 (II)
- ecclesiastical (of the church) → temporal · 2017 (II)
- condensation (vapour turning into liquid) → evaporation · 2023 (II)
- barring (preposition: except) → including · 2020 (II)
- contrary (opposite to, against) → similar · 2021 (I)
- particular (fussy and exact about details) → vague · 2021 (II)
- fuzzy (of sound: blurred, unclear) → clear · 2026 (II)
- mortiferous (deadly) → benign · 2026 (II)
- suitable (fitting, right for the purpose) → impertinent · 2018 (I)
- persuasion (noun: convincing someone) → discouraging · 2021 (I)
Worked example
Choose the word opposite in meaning to the underlined word. The scarcity of water worried the villagers. (a) abundant (b) abundance (c) shortage (d) dearth
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (II) 2017 — English · Q117Moderate
Example 2 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Method
Directions: word opposite in meaning to underlined word
The writer's erudition in science is revealed in every page of the book.
Right idea, wrong form
For the noun 'courage', 'cowardly' has the right idea but is an adjective; the noun 'cowardice' is the answer. Say your answer inside the sentence before you tick it. If it does not fit the slot, it is the trap.
The everyday meaning is not always the tested one
'I am very particular about it' means 'fussy about details', so the opposite is 'vague', not 'general'. And 'impertinent' today usually means 'rude', but its older sense is 'not pertinent, not fitting', which is how it can be the opposite of 'suitable'.
Prepositions have opposites too
'Barring' means 'except'. Its opposite is 'including'. Options like 'excepting' and 'excluding' mean the same as 'barring', so they go first.
Concept 3 of 4: Opposites built from prefixes and roots
Many English words are built from parts. A prefix sits at the front and changes the meaning; a root carries the core idea. Some prefixes simply say 'not'. Others come in pairs that point opposite ways. Spot the part, flip it, and you often have the antonym.
Definition
- 'Not' prefixes: un- (unkind), in- (inactive), im- before b, m, p (impatient), il- before l (illegal), ir- before r (irregular), dis- (dishonest), non- (non-stop).
- Paired prefixes: in-/im- 'into' against ex- 'out of' (import, export); sub- 'under' against super- 'above'; pre- 'before' against post- 'after'; over- against under-; bene- 'well' against mal- 'badly'.
- Paired roots: mis- 'hate' against phil- 'love' (with anthrop 'mankind': misanthrope, philanthropist); ascend against descend; include against exclude.
- Removing a 'not' prefix gives the opposite only if the plain word is offered. If it is not, look for a word that means the plain word.
- Check the meaning before you trust the shape. Some prefixes do not mean 'not' at all (see the traps).
Words met in this pattern:
- misanthropic (hating mankind) → philanthropic · 2019 (I)
- readable (easy to read) → illegible · 2019 (I)
- vital (essential, very important) → inessential · 2019 (I)
- efficacy (power to produce the intended result) → inefficiency · 2018 (II)
- dissuaded (advised not to do something) → persuaded · 2020 (II)
- discontinued (stopped) → resumed · 2022 (I)
- discord (disagreement; here, to disagree with) → accord · 2019 (II)
Worked example
Choose the word opposite in meaning to the underlined word. The country has to import most of its oil. (a) bring in (b) export (c) purchase (d) transport
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (I) 2019 — English · Q24Moderate
Example 3 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Method
Directions: opposite in meaning to the underlined word
Some of the men are highly misanthropic.
Not every in- means 'not'
'Inflammable' means 'burns easily', the same as 'flammable'. 'Invaluable' means 'priceless', so its opposite is 'worthless', not 'valuable'. 'Infamous' means 'famous for something bad'. Check the meaning before you flip the prefix.
The opposite may carry no prefix at all
For 'discontinued', the plain word 'continued' may not be offered. Then look for a word that means it: 'resumed'. For 'dissuaded', the answer is 'persuaded', a different word with the opposite pull.
The near-twin that looks safe
For 'efficacy' (the power to work), 'efficiency' and 'effectiveness' look and feel close to it. They are near-synonyms, so they go. The 'not' form, 'inefficiency', is the opposite.
Concept 4 of 4: Sound-alike and look-alike traps
Some options are there because they LOOK or SOUND like the underlined word, not because they mean anything close to it. A reader who goes by shape picks them. In an antonym item a look-alike is almost never the answer: settle what it means, and it falls out.
Definition
Three kinds of decoy:
- Sound-alikes: words that share most of their letters with the tested word or the answer (precarious, precious; impervious, imperious).
- False splits: an option built from a wrong break-up of the word (hoodwinked read as 'hook'; ensuing read as 'en suite').
- Near-twins of the answer: two options a few letters apart (purposely, purposively). Only one is the everyday opposite.
Rule: if you cannot say what an option means, do not pick it because it looks familiar.
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Look-alike decoy | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vulnerable | easily hurt or harmed | impervious | imperious: proud and bossy | 2019 (II)Q |
| precarious | uncertain, insecure | stable | precious: valuable; precipitous: very steep | 2026 (II)Q |
| hoodwinked | tricked | disabused | unhooked: freed from a hook | 2026 (II)Q |
| ensuing | coming after, following | retrospective | en suite: of a room, with its own bathroom | 2020 (II)Q |
| inadvertently | by accident, without meaning to | purposely | purposively: with a definite aim | 2018 (II)Q |
Each decoy shares letters or sounds with the word or the answer, but its meaning is unrelated.
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (II) 2026 — English · Q70Easy
Example 4 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Method
Directions: Each item in this section consists of a sentence with an underlined word followed by four words or groups of words. Select the option that is opposite in meaning to the underlined word and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
She led a precarious life as a theatre artist.
A familiar shape feels safe
When the tested word is hard, the option that looks most like it feels like a link to grab. It is usually a stranger with a similar spelling. Pick an option only when you can say what it means.
A look-alike can sit beside real synonyms
For 'vulnerable' (easily hurt), 'helpless' and 'defenceless' are synonyms and 'imperious' is a look-alike. Only 'impervious' (cannot be harmed) reverses it. Strike the synonyms, then the look-alike, and check what is left.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
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Reference tables (1)
Sound-alike and look-alike traps5 rows
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Look-alike decoy | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vulnerable | easily hurt or harmed | impervious | imperious: proud and bossy | 2019 (II)Q |
| precarious | uncertain, insecure | stable | precious: valuable; precipitous: very steep | 2026 (II)Q |
| hoodwinked | tricked | disabused | unhooked: freed from a hook | 2026 (II)Q |
| ensuing | coming after, following | retrospective | en suite: of a room, with its own bathroom | 2020 (II)Q |
| inadvertently | by accident, without meaning to | purposely | purposively: with a definite aim | 2018 (II)Q |
Each decoy shares letters or sounds with the word or the answer, but its meaning is unrelated.
Watch out for (10)
- Different is not opposite→ Strike out the three lookalikes
- Ticking the synonym out of habit→ Strike out the three lookalikes
- Right idea, wrong form→ Match the sense and the part of speech
- The everyday meaning is not always the tested one→ Match the sense and the part of speech
- Prepositions have opposites too→ Match the sense and the part of speech
- Not every in- means 'not'→ Opposites built from prefixes and roots
- The opposite may carry no prefix at all→ Opposites built from prefixes and roots
- The near-twin that looks safe→ Opposites built from prefixes and roots
- A familiar shape feels safe→ Sound-alike and look-alike traps
- A look-alike can sit beside real synonyms→ Sound-alike and look-alike traps
Test yourself on Vocabulary
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