Making Opposites with un-

One easy way to make an opposite is to add the word part un- to the front. Un- means 'not'. So 'unhappy' means not happy, 'unkind' means not kind, and 'unsafe' means not safe.

It can also mean to reverse an action: 'untie' means to undo a tie, and 'unlock' means to undo a lock. When you see a long word that starts with un-, cover the un- and read the base word first. Then add 'not' or 'undo'.

Read: 'He was unable to unzip his coat. ' He was not able to undo the zip.

• 1un- means 'not' or 'undo'.
• 2Cover un- and read the base word first.
• 3unkind = not kind; untie = undo a tie.