Antonyms and synonyms.

Antonyms and synonyms tell you about the relationship between two words.

If the words mean the opposite of each other, they are antonyms.

If the words have the same meaning as each other, they are synonyms.

Just think of it like this.

Antonyms are opposite and synonyms are similar.

Are cats and dogs antonyms?

Remember, that means opposites.

No, sometimes these animals do not get along, but that doesn't make them opposites.

The words " cat " and " dog " don't have antonyms

because there is no such thing as an " uncat " or an " undog ".

But these words do have synonyms, which means what?

Similar, right!

Can you think of another word that has a same meaning

or that you could use in place of the word " cat "?

Maybe a word like " kitty ".

You could say, " This is my kitty, Fluffy."

Or, " This is my cat, Fluffy."

And the sentences will have the same meaning.

How about another word for " dog "?

Like " pooch ".

Can you think of any more synonyms?

How about a synonym for " frightened "?

How about " scared "?

" Frightened " and " scared " have the same meaning.

Or how about " quick "?

Can you think of a word that means the same thing as " quick "?

Maybe " fast ", or maybe even " speedy "?

Yes, words can have more than one synonym.

Fast, quick and speedy are all synonyms.

They all have the same meaning.

What about some antonyms or words with opposite meanings?

Does " fast " have an antonym?

Yes, " slow ".

" Slow " is the opposite of " fast ", so they are antonyms.

If you said, " My car is fast," and, " My car is slow,"

you'd be saying two very different things.

Opposite things.

How about " old "?

Does " old " have an opposite?

Yes, young.

" Young " and " old " are antonyms.

Does " new " have any antonyms?

Old.

Didn't we already use " old "?

That's right, some words can have more than one antonym or opposite.

" New " and " old " are also antonyms, just like " young " and " old ".

So, does that mean that if " old " is an antonym of " new " and " young ",

that " young " and " new " are synonyms?

Sometimes, but not always.

" New " and " young " don't really have the same meaning.

Usually things are new and people are young,

but things and people both get old.

Can you think of any more antonyms?

Exhausted and energized.

Heavy and light.

Dark and light.

Aha! Another tricky one.

By the way those were all adjectives, but synonyms and antonyms can also be verbs.

" Raise " is an antonym of " lower ".

" Tug " is a synonym of " pull ".

Also, they can be nouns.

You 'll find a lot fewer nouns that have antonyms, but there are a few.

" Day " and " night " are antonyms.

" Bucket " and " pail " are synonyms.

All you have to do is remember this :

antonyms are opposite and synonyms are similar.