Synonyms are words that mean the same or nearly the same: quiet and silent, shout and yell, rich and wealthy.
Antonyms are words with opposite meanings: noisy and quiet, near and far, easy and hard.
Writers use synonyms so they do not repeat the same word too often. Antonyms help to show contrast: “The day was hot, but the night was cold.”
Worked example
Give a synonym and an antonym for “happy”.
- A word that means the same: glad or cheerful.
- A word that means the opposite: sad.
Answer:synonym: glad; antonym: sad
Key words
- synonym
- a word with the same or nearly the same meaning
- antonym
- a word with the opposite meaning
- contrast
- showing how things are different
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: L.2.5