SPI English · Vocabulary
Antonyms
An antonym question asks for the option opposite in meaning to a word, and the usual wrong options are words that mean the same.
Why this matters
Fourteen questions in the bank ask for the opposite, one of them from the 2022 paper, and five are MODERATE. In the harder ones three options are synonyms of the word, so the fastest route is to strike those and keep the one that turns the meaning round.
Concept 1 of 3: Strike the synonyms, then match the strength
An antonym list is built to catch you. One or two options mean the same as the word, one is unrelated, and one turns the meaning round. Remove the look-the-same options first. Then, of what is left, pick the word that reverses the meaning by the same amount.
Definition
The method:
- Say the word's meaning in plain words.
- Strike every option that means the same. These are the commonest wrong answers.
- Strike words of a different kind: the opposite of an action word is an action word, and the opposite of a describing word is a describing word.
- Of what is left, choose the one that reverses the meaning at the same strength. The opposite of 'warm' is 'cool'; the opposite of 'hot' is 'cold'.
Worked example
Choose the word opposite in meaning: The shop is seldom open on Sundays. (a) never (b) rarely (c) frequently (d) hardly
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionEasy
Example 1 · Vocabulary · Antonyms
Select the word opposite in the meaning (antonym) of the word written in bold in the following sentences.
Raju often walks to school.
Choosing the synonym by mistake
When you are asked for the opposite, the word that 'feels right' is often the one that means the same. Say to yourself 'opposite' as you read each option.
Too strong an opposite
The opposite of 'seldom' is 'often' or 'frequently', not 'always'. Always and never are the two ends of the scale, and each is the other's opposite.
Giving up is not losing
To surrender or forsake something is to give it up by choice. To lose it is to stop having it. The opposite of gaining is losing, so read what kind of action the word names.
Concept 2 of 3: Everyday words and their opposites
Some antonym questions use plain words a Class 10 student already knows. The mark is lost only by hurrying past a near synonym or a word from the same topic.
Definition
Two ways an opposite is made:
- A different word: clever and foolish, ancient and modern.
- A prefix that means not: in- (gratitude, ingratitude), un- (happy, unhappy), dis- (honest, dishonest).
- Check a prefix word before you trust it: invaluable means very valuable, not worthless.
| Word | Meaning | Opposite |
|---|---|---|
| misery | great unhappiness | contentment, happiness |
| clever | quick to learn and understand | foolish |
| ancient | very old, from long ago | modern |
| gratitude | thankfulness | ingratitude |
| scarcity | a shortage | plenty, abundance |
| ascend | to go up | descend |
| honest | telling the truth | dishonest |
| visible | able to be seen | invisible |
| permanent | lasting for ever | temporary |
An opposite is the same kind of word: a noun for a noun, a describing word for a describing word.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
SPI · 2022 · SPI Entrance Examination 2022 · Q134Easy
Example 2 · Vocabulary · Antonyms
This passage is taken from Mr Jim Corbett's book called 'My India'. In this book, the author narrates, through different stories, the life of common Indians about a century ago or so. This particular passage, with a few minor changes, is taken from a chapter titled 'The Law of the Jungle'. A hardworking couple, Kunthi and Harkwar, has lost their two young children for more than three days, from their hut next to a jungle.
Read the passage and answer the questions based on it.
Harkwar was sitting at the door of his hut staring into the darkening night, in which points of light were beginning to appear as a lantern or cooking fire was lit here and there, when he saw a small crowd of people appearing from the direction of the bazaar. At the head of the procession, a man was walking, carrying something on his shoulders. From all sides, people were converging on the procession and he could hear an excited murmur of 'Harkwar's children'. Harkwar's children! He could not believe his ears, and yet there appeared to be no mistake, for the procession was coming straight towards his hut.
Kunthi, having reached the limit of her misery and of her physical endurance, had fallen asleep curled up in a corner of the hut. Harkwar shook her awake and got her to the door just as the herdsman carrying Punwa and Putali reached it. Putali was beyond speech but Punwa was able to talk a little, and all the explanation he could give for their being in the jungle was that they had been playing and had got lost.
When tearful greetings, blessings and thanks for the rescuer, and congratulations of friends had partly subsided, the question of the reward, the herdsman had earned, was mooted. To a poor man, fifty rupees was wealth untold, and with it, the herdsman could buy three buffaloes, or ten cows, and be independent for life. But the rescuer was a better man than the crowd gave him credit for. The blessings and thanks that had been showered on his head that night, he said, was reward enough for him, and he stoutly refused to touch one pice (paisa) of the fifty rupees. Nor would Harkwar or Kunthi accept the reward either as a gift or loan. They had got the children they had lost all hope of ever seeing again, and would resume work as their strength returned.
The children were lost at midday on Friday and were found by the herdsman at about 5 p.m. on Monday, a matter of seventy seven hours. It would be unreasonable to assume that none of the animals or birds saw, heard or smelt the children. And yet, when the herdsman put Putali and Punwa into their parents' arms, there was not a single mark of tooth or claw on them.
When Hitler's war was nearing its end, in one week I read extracts from speeches of three of the greatest men in the British Empire, condemning war atrocities, and accusing the enemy of attempting to introduce the 'law of the jungle'. Had the Creator made the same law for man as He has made for the jungle folks, there would have been no wars for the strong man would have the same consideration for the weak as is the established law of the jungles.
Antonym for misery is____.
A prefix does not always mean not
Invaluable means so valuable that no price is enough, and inflammable means easily set on fire. Learn these two, because they look like opposites and are not.
A word from the same topic is not an opposite
'Age' sits next to 'ancient' in meaning but does not reverse it. The opposite of a word about time must also be about time: ancient and modern.
Concept 3 of 3: Harder words and their opposites
The MODERATE antonym questions use formal words. Here the trick is plain: three options usually mean the same as the word, and only one means the reverse.
Definition
How to use this table:
- Learn the meaning first, then the opposite.
- In the question, find the three options that share a meaning. The odd one out is usually the key.
- Many of these come in families: scrupulously, assiduously and painstakingly all mean with great care.
| Word | Meaning | Opposite |
|---|---|---|
| fallible | able to make mistakes | perfect, infallible |
| vague | not clear or definite | precise |
| conscientiously | carefully, with a sense of duty | carelessly |
| incidental | minor, coming along with the main thing | essential |
| disdainful | looking down on others | respectful, reverential |
| vigilant | watchful and alert | oblivious, unaware |
| ratify | to approve a treaty or law formally | annul, cancel |
| frugal | careful not to waste money | extravagant |
| transparent | clear enough to see through | opaque |
Synonym families to strike: frail, erring and mortal (like fallible); derisive, insolent and supercilious (like disdainful).
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a practice question:
Practice questionModerate
Example 3 · Vocabulary · Antonyms
DIRECTIONS : Select the option that is opposite in the meaning of underlined word
She performed all her duty conscientiously
Three options agree, so the fourth wins
When three options share one meaning, they are usually the word's synonyms, and none of them can be its opposite. Check the odd one out first.
Fallible has nothing to do with falling
Fallible means able to make mistakes, and infallible means never wrong. Do not read it as 'likely to fall' and pick a word like 'steady'.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
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Reference tables (2)
Everyday words and their opposites9 rows
| Word | Meaning | Opposite |
|---|---|---|
| misery | great unhappiness | contentment, happiness |
| clever | quick to learn and understand | foolish |
| ancient | very old, from long ago | modern |
| gratitude | thankfulness | ingratitude |
| scarcity | a shortage | plenty, abundance |
| ascend | to go up | descend |
| honest | telling the truth | dishonest |
| visible | able to be seen | invisible |
| permanent | lasting for ever | temporary |
An opposite is the same kind of word: a noun for a noun, a describing word for a describing word.
Harder words and their opposites9 rows
| Word | Meaning | Opposite |
|---|---|---|
| fallible | able to make mistakes | perfect, infallible |
| vague | not clear or definite | precise |
| conscientiously | carefully, with a sense of duty | carelessly |
| incidental | minor, coming along with the main thing | essential |
| disdainful | looking down on others | respectful, reverential |
| vigilant | watchful and alert | oblivious, unaware |
| ratify | to approve a treaty or law formally | annul, cancel |
| frugal | careful not to waste money | extravagant |
| transparent | clear enough to see through | opaque |
Synonym families to strike: frail, erring and mortal (like fallible); derisive, insolent and supercilious (like disdainful).
Watch out for (7)
- Choosing the synonym by mistake→ Strike the synonyms, then match the strength
- Too strong an opposite→ Strike the synonyms, then match the strength
- Giving up is not losing→ Strike the synonyms, then match the strength
- A prefix does not always mean not→ Everyday words and their opposites
- A word from the same topic is not an opposite→ Everyday words and their opposites
- Three options agree, so the fourth wins→ Harder words and their opposites
- Fallible has nothing to do with falling→ Harder words and their opposites
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