Context Clues Antonyms

Context Clues using Antonyms

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​What are Antonyms?

​An Antonym is the opposite of another word. What would be the opposite on Night? Day would be the opposite. What would be the opposite of wet? Dry would be the opposite. Sometimes writers will use antonyms to give you a clue on what an unknown word means.

​Let's learn how a writer will use an antonym to give us a context clue ... something that helps us understand a word we may not know.

​This painting of the landscape is picturesque, while the one of the old house is just plain ugly.

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What do you think the word picturesque means? The sentence is comparing 2 different paintings. One of them is 'just plain ugly'. That tells us that the other one must look good. ​We can conclude that picturesque must mean beautiful, or some other word that would be the opposite of ugly. In this case we are looking for an antonym.

​Let's look at more examples:

Example 1

It was hard to believe that such an erudite man had grown up in such an uneducated, uncultured home.

”Erudite” is contrasted with “uneducated” and “uncultured.”

Example 2

Pedro and Jenny are an odd couple. Pedro is very laconic while Jenny will talk for an hour just to tell you what she had for breakfast.

Pedro’s “laconic” nature is contrasted with the idea that Jenny is very talkative, perhaps talks too much. Being laconic means Pedro is a man of few words.

Example 3

The first was very original and kept the audience interested and entertained. On the other hand, the second was simply insipid.

From the contrast between the presenters, you can tell that “insipid” is the opposite of “original and interesting.”

Match

Choose the antonyms below

• Big

• Ocean

• Cloudy

• Winter

• Pass

Small

Desert

Sunny

Summer

Fail

• Small

• Desert

• Sunny

• Summer

• Fail

Multiple Choice

What does the underlined word mean? The feral cat would not let us pet him, unlike our friendly cat.

• friendly

• unfriendly

• domesticated
• vicious

Multiple Choice

What does the underlined word mean? Our sweltering summer days were quickly replaced by the cold flashes of fall.

• extremely hot and uncomfortable
• damp and humid
• mild and comfortable
• freezing and pleasant

Multiple Choice

What does the underlined word mean? The team was elated because they just found out they placed in the semifinals! This is a dream come true for the team!

• devastated
• indifferent
• disappointed
• extremely happy

Multiple Choice

What does the underlined word mean? He was opposed to the idea, although his best friend was completely supportive of it.

• in favor
• indifferent
• supportive
• against

Multiple Choice

Whats does the underlined word mean? She acted nonchalant about the exam, but she was actually quite concerned.

• nervous and anxious
• calm and relaxed
• bored and uninterested
• excited and thrilled

Multiple Choice

What does the underlined word mean? The court decided that the claim was fraudulent, even though the evidence seemed to show it was real.

• Correct

• True

• False

• Indifferent