Antonyms again
Brinder Aulakh

LANGUAGE attempts to reflect the user’s experience of reality of the phenomenal world. However, antonyms as a universal and linguistic category have a variety of forms in different languages.

This week let’s explore the use of antonyms a little more.

I. Use any of the following prefixes in-, im-, it-, ir-, un- and dis- to make antonyms of the given words.

1. correct 2. literate 3. famous 4. memorial 5. appropriate 6. honourable 7. finished 8. advantage 9. reparable 10. practicable 11. own 12. consequential 13. obedient 14. rewarding 15. refutable 16. seasonal

II. Fill in the blanks with antonyms of the italicised words.

1. The lion which escaped from the circus was soon _____.

2. I suddenly remembered that I had ________ to carry my identity card with me.

3. When Leena was a child she used to swim in the shallow end of the pool but now she swims in the ________ end.

4. Rajesh had a temporary job last year but this year he has a ________ one.

5. "Sins of omission and ________" was his text.

III. Rewrite the following sentences changing the italicised words into antonyms

1. My hard working maid never sleeps during the afternoon.

2. The foolish man carelessly spent all his money.

3. The young people decided to sell this house and live separately.

4. The short boys and the fat girls climbed up the ladder.

5. The disobedient pupil was punished by the teacher.

6. Late in the afternoon the supermarket is full.

All the shelves are untidy, the floors are dirty and dull. It is noisy before the departure of the last customers.

IV. Fill in the blanks with a word opposite in meaning to the underlined word. Choose the antonym from the given list.

depreciate, revenge, commended, circuitous, dearth, sporadic, discursive, obscure, deter

1. An abundance of potatoes was offset by a _______ of green vegetables.

2. Having rebuked their clumsiness, he ________ their perseverance.

3. She ________ exaggerated her failures but ________ her successes.

4. The ______ appearance of clouds in the desert is in sharp contrast to the continuous clore of the sun.

5. Do not let my opinion ________ you; rather let it encourage you.

6. Her remarks were very pointed; whereas her opponent’s were tiresomely ________.

7. I wish to avoid a ________ route and arrive quickly by the most direct route.

8. Forgiveness is better than ________.

9. Once a famous singer, she is now an ________ crooner.

I. 1. incorrect 2. illiterate 3. infamous 4. immemorial 5. inappropriate 6. dishonourable 7. unfinished 8. disadvantage 9. irreparable 10. impracticable 11. disown 12. inconsequential 13. disobedient 14. unrewarding 15. irrefutable 16. unseasonal.

II. 1. captured 2. forgotten 3. deep 4. permanent 5. commission.

III. 1. lazy-always 2. wise-woman-carefully-saved-her 3. old-buy-together 4. tall-girls-thin boys 5. obedient-rewarded 6. Early-morning-empty-tidy-clean-bright-quiet-arrival-first.

IV. 1. dearth 2. commended 3. depreciated 4. sporadic 5. deter 6. discursive 7. circuitous 8. revenge 9. obscure.