Antonyms: Words That Mean the Opposite

Find words that mean the opposite of each other.

An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. 'Hot' and 'cold' are antonyms. So are 'open' and 'closed', 'early' and 'late', and 'full' and 'empty'. Authors use antonyms to show a big change or a difference.

Read: 'In the morning the jar was full. By night it was empty. ' The antonyms show that something happened during the day. Someone ate all the cookies! When you meet a new word, thinking of its opposite can help you understand it.

• 1Antonyms mean the opposite.
• 2They can show a change or a difference.
• 3Thinking of the opposite helps you understand a word.