Synonyms and Antonyms

Developmental Reading 1

1. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS








Synonym: A word used when you can’t spell the word you want.
• Chicago Daily Tribune
______________________________________________________


ynonyms are different words or phrases in the same language that
have a similar meaning. For example, the words “bigger” and
“larger” are synonyms. In comparing rocks and pebbles, either one
could be used in the sentence.


Rocks are bigger than pebbles.
Rocks are larger than pebbles.


Both sentences have the same meaning because the words “big” and “large”
are synonyms. (“Bigger” and “larger” are the comparative forms of “big” and
“large”.)


ntonyms are words that have opposite meanings. For example,
“happy” and “sad” are antonyms. Read the following examples:


I am happy because the visitors have left.
I am sad because the visitors have left.


When the word “happy” in the first sentence is replaced by the word “sad”
in the second sentence, the meaning of the statement changes. This is because the

2. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


meaning of the word “sad” is “not happy”. In the second sentence, it is as if you
said, “I am not happy because the visitors have left”. This is the exact opposite of
what you said in the first sentence.

Here is a list of some words and their antonyms and synonyms:

Word Synonyms Antonyms

abbreviate shorten, compress,
condense, cut back
lengthen, extend,
enlarge
abdicate abandon, give up,
leave, quit
appropriate, retain,
usurp
agrarian agricultural, rural,
natural
industrial, urban,
developed
allay alleviate, calm, ease excite, intensify,
provoke
anguish agony, grief, worry,
mourn
happiness, comfort,
carefree
antique old, rustic, obsolete new, modern, recent
apathetic emotionless,
impassive, indifferent
enthusiastic, caring,
concerned
archaic old, antique, obsolete new, young, modern
arrogate confiscate,
commandeer, seize
give, present, hand
over
assiduous active, busy,
industrious
lazy, slothful, neglectful
baleful deadly, malevolent,
foreboding
friendly, favourable,
helpful
baroque elaborate, flamboyant,
extravagant
dull, plain,
unsophisticated

3. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

begrudge jealous, covet, envy congratulate, content
blacklist ban, exclude, expel welcome, accept,
permit
bombastic flowery, grandiose,
ostentatious
humble, plain, normal
bourgeois common, traditional,
normal
adventurous,
ambitious, imaginative
brawny athletic, healthy, husky anaemic, scrawny, frail
browbeat nag, harass, intimidate boost, praise,
compliment
burnish polish, shine, buff dull, scuff, tarnish
buttress brace, prop, reinforce weaken, destabilize
cacophonous noisy, raucous, loud quiet, calm, peaceful
camaraderie friendship, brotherly,
companionship
dislike, hostility, hateful
chagrin annoy, disgrace,
displease
delight, please, enjoy
chasten punish, berate,
discipline
reward, assist,
encourage
circumlocution euphemism,
indirectness, wordiness
directness,
conciseness,
straightforwardness
clandestine secret, covert, illicit open, forthright,
publicly
climactic critical, paramount,
peak
dull, boring,
uninteresting

4. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

coagulate congeal, thicken,
solidify
dilute, melt, thin
covetous envious, greedy,
jealous
sharing, generous,
giving
cursory quick, abbreviated,
haphazard
thorough, meticulous,
painstaking
dauntless bold, valiant, brave cowardly, intimidated,
fearful
dearth absence, inadequacy,
scarcity
plenty, abundance,
excess
debauched degraded, immortal,
perverted
pure, mortal, virtuous
derogatory offensive, demeaning,
sarcastic
encouraging, praising,
flattering
domineering bossy, arrogant,
egotistic
submissive,
subservient, humble
earmark designate, allocate, tag any, all
ebullient outgoing, elated,
vivacious
apathetic, impassive,
disinterested
effervescent bubbly, fizzy, foamy flat, stale, watery
embellish decorate, adorn,
festoon
deface, mar, strip
ensconce hide, conceal, cache reveal, uncover, unveil
fabled legendary, mythical,
famed
obscure, unknown
facetious comical, teasing, ironic formal, serious, sombre

5. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

fetid loathsome, putrid,
decayed
fresh, clean, sweet
finicky picky, choosy, fussy easy-going, open-
minded, laid-back
flirtatious amorous, enticing, flirty shy, modest
gargantuan huge, massive, large small, tiny, miniscule
genesis start, beginning, initial end, finish, terminate
goad force, harass, provoke deter, discourage,
dissuade
gregarious friendly, affable,
sociable
introverted, unfriendly,
unsociable
gumption shrewdness,
sagaciousness, wit
ignorant, unable,
unwilling
habitual accustomed,
methodical, recurrent
unpractised, infrequent,
occasional
hallucination apparition, vision,
mirage
reality, fact, truth
heckle jeer, ridicule, disrupt encourage, praise,
applaud
homogenous uniform, alike, akin different, mixed, varied
hypothetical postulated, debatable,
supposed
sure, positive, proven
ignoble degenerate, corrupt,
wicked
noble, honourable,
respectable
illusory ostensible, imaginary,
misleading
true, real, actual

6. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
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SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

immutable fixed, permanent,
constant
variable, flexible
inchoate formless, embryonic,
immature
mature, developed,
formed
iridescent shimmering, lustrous,
prismatic
dull, flat, drab
jaundiced prejudiced, biased,
intolerant
tolerant, impartial,
neutral
jocular cheerful, amusing,
wacky
serious, grave, sombre
jovial sociable, affable,
cheerful
sad, unhappy, gloomy
judicious shrewd, astute, rational idiotic, foolish, reckless
jumble mix, shuffle, dishevel align, straighten,
organize
keen enthusiastic, earnest,
zealous
reluctant, apathetic,
uninterested
kindred homogenous, similar,
akin
different, unlike,
unaffiliated
kinky perverted, bizarre,
unusual
normal, ordinary,
conventional
knack ability, aptitude,
propensity
inability, ineptitude
kudos praise, applause, credit blame, criticism
laborious tiresome,
backbreaking, arduous
easy, simple, effortless

7. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
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SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

lackadaisical lazy, passive, half-
hearted
enthusiastic, interested,
ambitious
lecherous licentious, salacious,
corrupt
clean, prudish, chaste
lethargic lazy, languid, sleepy animated, lively,
energetic
loquacious talkative, chatty,
garrulous
quiet, reserved,
concise
macabre eerie, ghoulish, scary appealing, safe, normal
malicious mean, spiteful, hateful friendly, kind,
benevolent
meretricious superficial, insincere,
spurious
actual, truthful,
unembellished
modish stylish, trendy, chic old-fashioned,
unstylish, out dated
munificent magnanimous,
philanthropic,
charitable
stingy, miserly, greedy
nauseate sicken, repulse, offend please, appeal, delight
negligent neglectful, careless,
unthinking
diligent, thorough,
attentive
nihilism disbelief, scepticism,
denial
faith, belief, devotion
nominal trivial, unimportant,
token
expensive, significant,
important

8. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

nuisance bother, irritant,
annoyance
pleasure, delight,
happiness
obeisance deference, respect,
loyalty
irreverence, disrespect,
treachery
occlude congest, obstruct, clog clear, unplug, unclog
officious pushy, interfering,
overzealous
timid, modest,
unobtrusive
ogre troll, fiend, monster angel, fairy
ominous awesome, apocalyptic,
menacing
promising, favourable,
optimistic
painstaking meticulous, thorough,
finicky
negligent, haphazard,
careless
palatable savoury, appetizing,
delectable
unsavoury, distasteful
parsimonious greedy, miserly, selfish magnanimous,
generous, lavish
pauper beggar, bum, indigent tycoon, millionaire,
magnate
perspicacious shrewd, astute, clever dense, ignorant,
unknowing
qualm objection, anxiety,
misgiving
agreement,
concurrence, approval
quibble squabble, dispute,
hassle
agree, concur, approve
quick-witted smart, alert, perceptive stupid, inane,
uneducated

9. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

radiant shining, beautiful,
charming
sad, gloomy,
pessimistic
ramshackle dilapidated, run-down,
decrepit
new, sturdy, strong
recalcitrant wayward, disobedient,
undisciplined
well-behaved,
obedient, passive
rhetorical pompous,
grandiloquent,
pretentious
humble, concise,
straightforward
ruminate think, consider,
contemplate
ignore, disregard
sadistic perverse, vicious,
barbarous
kind, benevolent,
merciful
salubrious wholesome, beneficial,
healthy
detrimental, harmful,
unhealthy
satiate satisfy, fulfil, slake deprive, starve,
withhold
scintillating animated, enthusiastic,
ebullient
dull, boring, obtuse
scurrilous vulgar, indecent,
obscene
decent, proper, refined
tabulate order, organize,
categorize
jumble, mix, shuffle
tedious laborious, monotonous,
wearisome
fun, varied, entertaining
tempestuous windy, blustery, violent calm, balmy, moderate

10. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

transcendent fantastic, awesome,
primordial
dull, mundane,
commonplace
tumultuous stormy, raucous,
boisterous
calm, peaceful,
harmonious
ubiquitous universal, omnipresent,
widespread
scarce, unusual, rare
ulterior secret, convert,
obscure
open, known, obvious
unanimous homogenous,
concurrent, unified
divided, schismatic,
split
uncouth misbehaved, ill-
mannered, unhygienic
polite, cultured,
sophisticated
unequivocal obvious, apparent,
blatant
obscured, vague,
undefined
vacillate straddle, fluctuate,
alternate
decided, resolute,
determined
vanquish defeat, overcome, win lose, capitulate, forfeit
vehement forceful, ardent,
zealous
apathetic, uncaring,
lukewarm
verbatim exactly, accurately,
literally
distorted, garbled,
confusing
veto refuse, disagree, refuse agree, concur, approve
wane dwindle, decline,
slacken
increase, grow, expand
wanton wasteful, careless,
frivolous
frugal, spendthrift,
miserly

11. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


Word Synonyms Antonyms

warrant justify, sanction,
authorize
undetermined, refute,
refuse
wayward prodigal, misbehaved,
irresponsible
dependable,
responsible, respectful
wheedle entice, persuade,
seduce
coerce, force, compel
yank pull, snatch, jerk push, shove
yearn desire, hanker, lust dislike, hate
yen urge, yearning, desire dislike, hatred,
revulsion
yoke fasten, connect, link separate, divorce,
unhitch
zany crazy, wacky, silly serious, somber,
sedate
zealous enthusiastic, ebullient,
ardent
indifferent, lethargic,
unconcerned
zenith peak, pinnacle, top valley, bottom
zest desire, ambition,
enthusiasm
apathy, lethargy,
indifference
zoom speed, streak, dash slow, crawl, ooze







Did you know that… ?
The verb “cleave” is the only English
word with two synonyms that are antonyms of
each other: adhere and separate.

12. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS




ACTIVITY 1

Look for the pairs of synonyms in the puzzle. Write them on the
blanks provided.

Example:
1. CLEAR – __SURE__

Start here:
1. ________________________ - ________________________
2. ________________________ - ________________________
3. ________________________ - ________________________
4. ________________________ - ________________________
5. ________________________ - ________________________
6. ________________________ - ________________________
7. ________________________ - ________________________
8. ________________________ - ________________________
9. ________________________ - ________________________
10.________________________ - ________________________

O L D A J H B K S M A R T C G L D B I
M A E K O F P J P G L E M P T Y O E H
R T I M S J A N T K R A U L Q V M F P
X E O T K Y S P S Z Q H C A W R B O X
S V C M I X S G O R G E O U S U D R E
V F Z W N G I U X A H A N Y B T Y E Z
D G L A D C V A J E B D S K F A C L G
D K A M E J E N I F H H I M G R O N H
R P Z T P L K Q O L A S D U M D S Q N
O A Y J U M B L E W P R E T T Y T P C
A Q T Y R U P S V R P T R W V U X B V
R J Y X O A Y R B Z Y P A Q B L A N K
W K F S H A R P B X A C T Z E D C F E
A N F D M G H L A N C I E N T H D I G
R A R E S
I B L O U
C L E A R
P O O R E
Let’s Practice!

13. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


ACTIVITY 2

Encircle the word which does not belong to the group.

Example:
1. evil decent poor bad bush

Start here:
1. recent antique obsolete rustic old
2. malicious mean spiteful hateful kind
3. zoom crawl streak speed dash
4. bright clever smart simple intelligent
5. earthborn hominid immortal natural man
6. agree differ coincide concur admit
7. clemency mercy forbearance coldheartedness charity
8. indigent affluent flush rich opulent
9. courage prowess virtue valor cowardice
10. faith piety devotion atheism religion


ACTIVITY 3

Underline the word that would best collocates with the given term.

Example:
1. tight/ capable/ secure - knot

Start here:
1. profound/ bottomless/ subterranean - ideas
2. ubiquitous/ everywhere/ far and wide - coconut trees
3. herculean/ giant/ mammoth - task
4. automated/ robotic/ independent - counting machine
5. silly/ immature/ unripe - answer

14. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


6. memorized/ brained/ mindful - speech
7. sweet / sugary/ saccharine - memory
8. wet/ sodden/ soggy - paint
9. indelible/ ineffaceable/ unforgettable - ink
10. religious/ pious/ secular - sector


ACTIVITY 4

Look for at least three (3) synonyms and two (2) antonyms of the
following words in a thesaurus. Write your answers on the box.

Example:




Start here:
patient




lean swim calm
proud




suspicious modest dull
forward




great gigantic extraordinary
radiant
synonyms: beautiful,
shining, charming
antonyms: sad,
pessimistic

15. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


ACTIVITY 5

Identify the given pair of words whether synonyms or antonyms.
Write S if they are synonyms and A for antonyms. Write your answer on
the blank provided.

Example:
____A___ 1. huge – midget

Start here:
________ 1. up – down
________ 2. small – little
________ 3. yes – no
________ 4. minute – tiny
________ 5. in – out
________ 6. soft – downy
________ 7. hot – cold
________ 8. wet – moist
________ 9. comport – differ
________ 10. weak – wimpy


ACTIVITY 6

A. Underline the words which are synonyms in the following
sentences.

Example:
1. Victor has enormous plaque of commendations while Alex has
cosmic trophies.

Start here:
1. Tom commented that Sally was very pretty and Mike agreed that
Sally was very attractive.
2. Although the man was destitute, he was not poor in spirit.
3. Mary claimed she was happy because she felt so content.
4. Lethargic generally means a person is very tired and extremely
sleepy.
5. George’s financial problems were great obstacles and impediments
to paying his monthly bills.

16. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS



B. Underline the words which are antonyms in the following
sentences.

Example:
1. Emma found a giant Sinraptor’s bone at the backyard of their home
and Chris also found a miniature bone of an Ingenia.

Start here:
1. When you are loud, I will ask you to be quiet.
2. You are kind even when he is mean to you.
3. The sun is high at noon and low at sunset.
4. Messy kids need to work on being tidy.
5. Stop at a red light and go when it is green.


ACTIVITY 7

Write the antonym/s of the word/s inside the box and create a
sentence either of the two words.

Example:
1. old – young
__I want to grow old with you.__

Start here:

brother


inside

heedless

gloomy

honest

over

sassy

near

timid

noisy


1. –
_____________________________________________________
2. –
_____________________________________________________
3. –
_____________________________________________________

17. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS


4. –
_____________________________________________________
5. –
________________________________________ _____________
6. –
_____________________________________________________
7. –
_____________________________________________________
8. –
_____________________________________________________
9. –
_____________________________________________________
10. –
_____________________________________________________


ACTIVITY 8

Give the synonyms and antonyms of the underlined words found on
the poem. Write them on the table below.

Example:
Don’t tell me to grow up
Or worst still act my age

Word Synonym Antonym
1. grow expand decrease

Start here:
BEGGAR CHILDREN
by Emmanuel Torres

Wherever they go, skies looking for them
Remain ghosts of killer kites
Even their clothes have the rip holes of kites
Caught raving among high electric branches.
Playgrounds they wander in are condemned
By the fat book of proverbs: games have abandoned them.

18. DEVELOPMENTAL READING 1
College of Education

SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS



They trail the tracks of sparrows’ slingshot
Would stone down, live, into their dreamless hands.
Shreds of nests, wind struck, straw their hair.
When they speak, plucking the high sleeves of the strangers
Beyond reach of sweat crowding their brows,
It is all a hopscotch make-do language.

Reaped from wall of liberal graffiti
(Colorum profiles, amulet signals, pistols
Pointed at hunger shaped like purse of hairy mouth)
Patrolled by the shadow of a carnal cop.
Their eyes, alert, are blacker than a shadow
They spill about them and loose in crowded noons.

Catch-as-catch-can is what their fingers learn
From hoops of skinny thorns: thus they survive.
If between the billboard siren and the rainy highway
Their eyes fall on pebbles, their wishes are not
For marbles gleaming with rainbow swirls heaven
But for hubcaps to take to as far as the next possible town.

Word Synonym Antonym
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.