Determine the meaning of words using antonyms in context
Key Notes:
| What are Antonyms? |
Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. For example:
- Hot and cold
- Happy and sad
- Fast and slow
| Antonyms as Context Clues |
Sometimes, you’ll come across a word you don’t know while reading. Don’t panic! The surrounding words, called context clues, can help you figure out the meaning. One helpful type of context clue is an antonym.
When an antonym of the unknown word appears in the sentence, it gives you a direct contrast, helping you infer the word’s meaning.
| How to Use Antonyms to Determine Meaning |
- Identify the unknown word: Locate the word you don’t understand.
- Look for antonyms: Search the sentence (or surrounding sentences) for words with opposite meanings.
- Infer the meaning: Use the antonym to make an educated guess about the meaning of the unknown word. Think, “If this word means the opposite of X, then it must mean Y.”
| Examples |
Let’s look at some examples:
Example 1:
“While Sarah is always gregarious and outgoing, her brother is quiet and reserved.”
- Unknown word: gregarious
- Antonym: quiet and reserved
- Inferred meaning: Since quiet and reserved is the opposite of gregarious, we can infer that gregarious means sociable or outgoing.
Example 2:
“The food was not palatable; in fact, it was quite disgusting.”
- Unknown word: palatable
- Antonym: disgusting
- Inferred meaning: Because disgusting is the opposite of palatable, we can infer that palatable means pleasing or tasty.
| Practice Exercises |
Read each sentence and use the antonym to determine the meaning of the underlined word.
- The speaker was known for his brevity; unlike many others, he was rarely long-winded.
- The old house was in a state of disrepair, but the new one was immaculate.
- The comedian’s jokes were so banal that the audience found them anything but original.
- Even though he was normally very docile, today he was being stubborn and difficult.
- The mountain path was so treacherous and dangerous but the road was smooth and flat.
| Answer Key |
- Brevity: Conciseness; shortness
- Disrepair: Poor condition; needing repair
- Banal: Commonplace; unoriginal
- Docile: Obedient; easily managed
- Treacherous: Hazardous; dangerous
| Summary |
In these notes, we learned that antonyms are words with opposite meanings. We explored how to use antonyms as context clues to decipher the meanings of unfamiliar words within sentences. By identifying antonyms and understanding the contrast they provide, we can make educated guesses about the definitions of new vocabulary.
Let’s practice!🖊️
