Number Adjectives

Grammar • Adjectives

Antonyms

Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. Adjectives often have antonyms because they can describe very different qualities of people, places and things.

Common adjective antonyms

hot

↔

cold

fast

↔

slow

big

↔

little

large

↔

small

new

↔

old

wide

↔

narrow

long

↔

short

young

↔

old

wet

↔

dry

clean

↔

dirty

right

↔

left

rough

↔

smooth

Antonyms in descriptions

a short person ↔ a tall person

a fresh cake ↔ a stale cake

a rough road ↔ a smooth road

a bright day ↔ a dull day

Match the antonyms

Choose two words that are opposites.

Choose a word

↔

Choose its opposite

Check pair Clear

Choose the opposite

Next word

Antonyms made with prefixes

Sometimes we can create an opposite by adding a prefix to the beginning of an adjective.

un-

happy → unhappy usual → unusual clean → unclean

in-

dependent → independent formal → informal visible → invisible

im-

possible → impossible patient → impatient mature → immature

il-

legal → illegal logical → illogical legible → illegible

ir-

regular → irregular responsible → irresponsible relevant → irrelevant

Build an opposite

un-

+

happy

=

unhappy

Show another

Quick check: If two describing words show opposite qualities, they are probably antonyms.