424 Antonym Pairs You Must Know


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Building your vocabulary is an important part of learning English, and a great way to expand your vocabulary is by memorizing antonym pairs, which are words with opposite meanings. Check out the list of 424 common antonym pairs we've compiled below!

If you want a fun way to keep practicing your antonym pairs while studying, as a game with friends, or as a classroom tool, we offer a set of flashcards on these as well as synonyms, idioms, sense words, and other useful vocabulary for English learners in our package 1,574 Flashcards All English Learners Need to Have. And if you want to keep practicing your new English vocabulary with a native speaker, we also offer English tutoring for learners across the world.

above - below
absent - present
abundance - lack
abundant - scarce
accept - decline
accidental - intentional
accurate - inaccurate
add - subtract
admit - deny
adult - child
advance - retreat
advanced - elementary
advantage - disadvantage
after - before
agree - disagree
ahead - behind
alive - dead
already - not yet
always - never
amateur - professional
amuse - bore
angel - devil
appear - disappear
approached - departed
approval - disapproval
approve - disapprove
arrival - departure
arrive - depart
ascend - descend
attention - inattention
attractive - repulsive
aunt - uncle
authentic - imitation
awake - asleep
bad luck - good luck
bald - hairy
beauty - ugliness
beg - offer
begin - end
beginning - ending
bend - straighten
best - worst
better - worse
black - white
bless - curse
body - soul
bold - timid
boring - stimulating
bound - unbound
boy - girl
brave - cowardly
bravery - cowardice
bright - dim
buy - sell
can - cannot
capable - incapable
careful - careless
cellar - attic
certain - uncertain
city - country
clean - dirty
clockwise - counterclockwise
close - distant
cloudy - clear
cold (noun) - heat
combine - separate
comfort - discomfort
complete - incomplete
conceal - reveal
condemn - praise
constant - changeable
construction - destruction
continue - interrupt
cool - warm
correct - incorrect
courteous - discourteous
create - destroy
cruel - kind
dangerous - safe
daughter - son
dawn - dusk
day - night
daytime - nighttime
deep - shallow
definite - indefinite
demand - supply
despair - hope
dictatorship - democracy
disease - health
disgrace - honor
down - up
downstairs - upstairs
downwards - upwards
dwarf - giant
early - late
east - west
easy - difficult
ebb - flow
employer - employee
encourage - discourage
enter - exit
even - odd
everybody - nobody
exactly - approximately
excited - calm
expand - contract
expensive - inexpensive
extinguish - ignite
fade - brighten
fall - spring
fancy - plain
fear - courage
feeble - powerful
female - male
fertile - barren
fiction - fact
first - last
fix - break
float - sink
floor - ceiling
fold - unfold
foolish - wise
for - against
forbid - allow
fore - aft
foreground - background
foreign - domestic
forelegs - hind legs
former - latter
fortunate - unfortunate
forward - backward
frank - secretive
freedom - captivity
freeze - melt
frequently - occasionally
fresh - stale
friend - enemy
from - to
front - back
full - empty
future - past
gain - loss
gather - distribute
general - particular
give - take
glad - sorry
gloomy - cheerful
go - stop
godfather - godmother
good - bad
graceful - clumsy
grant - refuse
granted - refused
grow - shrink
guardian - ward
guest - host
happy - sad
harmful - harmless
harmony - discord
harsh - mild
hasten - dawdle
haves - have-nots
heaven - hell
height - depth
help - hinder
here - there
hide - show
hill - valley
hilly - flat
him - her
hit - miss
honest - dishonest
hopeful - hopeless
horizontal - vertical
hot - cold
humble - proud
hunger - thirst
husband - wife
idle - busy
immigrate - emigrate
immigration - emigration
import - export
important - trivial
imprison - free
in - out
include - exclude
increase - decrease
inferior - superior
inhabited - uninhabited
inhale - exhale
inner - outer
innocent - guilty
inside - outside
insult - compliment
intelligent - unintelligent
interested - bored
interesting - uninteresting
interior - exterior
internal - external
jolly - unhappy
junior - senior
just - unjust
justice - injustice
keen - uninterested
king - subject
knowledge - ignorance
known - unknown
lady - gentleman
land - sea
landlord - tenant
large - small
laugh - cry
lawful - unlawful
lazy - energetic
lead - follow
leader - follower
lend - borrow
lender - borrower
length - width
lengthen - shorten
less - more
life - death
light - dark
like - dislike
likely - unlikely
limited - boundless
literal - figurative
little - big
live - die
lock - unlock
lofty - lowly
loose - tight
lost - found
love - hate
low - high
loyal - disloyal
magnetize - demagnetize
major - minor
majority - minority
man - woman
many - few
married - single
marry - divorce
mature - immature
me - you
men - women
minimum - maximum
miser - spendthrift
misunderstand - understand
mix - sort
moderate - extreme
modern - ancient
monarchy - republic
morning - evening
most - least
mother - father
nadir - zenith
naked - clothed
native - foreigner
natural - artificial
near - far
neat - messy
nice - nasty
niece - nephew
none of - all of
noon - midnight
normal - strange
north - south
nothing - everything
notice - ignore
nourish - starve
now - then
obedient - disobedient
obey - disobey
older - younger
on - off
open - closed
opposite - similar
optimist - pessimist
order - mess
ordinary - special
outskirts - center
over - under
parents - children
patient - impatient
perfect - faulty
plant - harvest
pleasant - awful
please - displease
poetry - prose
polite - rude
positive - negative
possible - impossible
poverty - wealth
presence - absence
preserve - waste
probably - certainly
protect - attack
prudent - imprudent
public - private
pure - impure
push - pull
qualified - unqualified
question - answer
quiet - loud
rainy - sunny
raise - lower
rare - common
raw - cooked
real - fake
regular - irregular
regularly - irregularly
reluctant - enthusiastic
remember - forget
repair - damage
reward - punishment
rich - poor
right - left
rigid - pliable
rough - smooth
rural - urban
sadness - happiness
safety - danger
same - different
sane - insane
satisfaction - dissatisfaction
satisfactory - unsatisfactory
satisfy - dissatisfy
save - spend
scatter - collect
second-hand - new
secure - insecure
security - insecurity
seldom - often
selfish - unselfish
send - receive
sense - nonsense
serious - silly
servant - master
set free - arrest
sharp - dull
she - he
shelter - exposure
shopkeeper - customer
sick - healthy
simple - complex
singular - plural
sister - brother
sit - stand
slim - fat
slow - fast
smart - dumb
smile - frown
soft - hard
solid - liquid
some - none
sorrow - joy
sow - reap
speaker - listener
start - finish
stationary - movable
straight - crooked
strengthen - weaken
strict - lenient
strong - weak
student - teacher
stupid - clever
succeed - fail
success - failure
sugar - salt
summer - winter
supporter - opponent
sweet - sour
synonym - antonym
tall - short
tame - wild
teach - learn
temporary - permanent
terrible - lovely
thankful - thankless
thick - thin
throw - catch
tiny - huge
together - apart
top - bottom
total - partial
tough - tender
tragedy - comedy
transparent - opaque
true - false
trust - suspect
truth - lie
ugly - pretty
unbreakable - fragile
unite - divide
unity - division
upside down - right-side up
urgent - leisurely
useful - useless
usually - rarely
vacant - occupied
valuable - valueless
victory - defeat
villain - hero
virtue - vice
visible - invisible
voluntary - compulsory
vowel - consonant
walk - run
war - peace
wax - wane
well - ill
wet - dry
whisper - scream
whole - part
wide - narrow
win - lose
winner - loser
wisdom - folly
work - rest
yes - no
yesterday - tomorrow
young - old
zip - unzip

Did you find this list of 424 common antonyms useful in expanding your English vocabulary? Remember, if you want to keep practicing these and other useful words, check out our set of fun and challenging flashcards, 1,574 Flashcards All English Learners Need to Have. And remember, if you want to practice one on one with a native English speaker, we offer personalized English tutoring for you, no matter your skill level or where you are in the world.