antonym

[ an-tuh-nim ]
See synonyms for antonym on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a word opposite in meaning to another. Fast is an antonym of slow.: Compare synonym (def. 1).

Origin of antonym

1
First recorded in 1865–70; ant- + (syn)onym

Other words from antonym

  • an·ton·y·mous [an-ton-uh-muhs], /ænˈtɒn ə məs/, an·to·nym·ic, adjective
  • an·ton·y·my, noun

Words Nearby antonym

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use antonym in a sentence

  • But, oddly enough, the eyes were a total and surprising antonym of this smiling mouth.

    The Red Debt | Everett MacDonald
  • In strict usage, daily is the antonym of nightly as diurnal is of nocturnal.

    English Synonyms and Antonyms | James Champlin Fernald
  • By and by, which was once a synonym, has become an antonym of immediately, meaning at some (perhaps remote) future time.

    English Synonyms and Antonyms | James Champlin Fernald
  • Logically the other side of white is not white, while the antonym is the extreme black.

    Public Speaking | Clarence Stratton
  • The direct antonym of cause is effect, while that of antecedent is consequent.

    English Synonyms and Antonyms | James Champlin Fernald

British Dictionary definitions for antonym

antonym

/ (ˈæntənɪm) /


noun
  1. a word that means the opposite of another word: ``empty'' is an antonym of ``full''

Origin of antonym

1
C19: from Greek antōnumia, from anti- + onoma name

Derived forms of antonym

  • antonymous (ænˈtɒnɪməs), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012