How to Solve Antonyms Questions Quickly

To easily solve the questions that require you to fill up with antonyms of  specific word i is important that you follow some basic rules.

Rule #1 – Answer Choices

Any word or sentence can have a positive, negative or a neutral connotation to it. It’s important to find that out and then fill the blank. If the sentence is positive find a negative word as an antonym and vice versa.

Rule #2 – Types of Antonyms

Antonyms can be sharply divided into 2 parts namely Graded and Complimentary. Let’s take a quick look as to what they mean.

Types of Antonyms:

• Gradable Antonyms: They are the type where you can associate a word with a range of other words as an opposite. T make it clearer let’s take an example:
  • let’s take a word broad. Now it’s antonyms can be limited, detailed, narrow, specific, disguised, restricted, veiled, precise, (Here you can see there’s a range of words from precise to narrow. This can relate with an idea or of a shape. hence it falls into a range.)

• Complementary Antonyms: They are described as antonyms that have a completely contrasting nature. There is no range. It’s the two end of a line. black and white
  • husband and white
  • sugar and salt
  • rich and poor

• Relational Antonyms:  they are considered to be different than complimentary in some ways. These are the pairs that are universally used together and hence form a relation between them whenever used.
  
  • doctor – patient
  • teacher – pupil
  • Hunter – prey

Rule #3 – Add a Root word, prefix or a suffix

Answering a question without knowing its meaning can be difficult. However, if you have an idea about the root words and prefix or suffix, the process becomes easier.

Root Words:

The basic or the main word that can be used to form different word and still relate to the same meaning is known as a root word.

For example:

• Loqu/locut : to speak

  1. Soliloquy – speak alone
  2. Interlocution – conversation
  3. Elocution – public speaking
  4. Somniloquy – speaking in sleep

Prefix:

Words that are placed before the root word to change its meaning.

• Positive prefix – pre, pro, re, super, en, co etc.
• Negative Prefix – de, ir, im, mal, un, non, a, in etc.

Suffix:

Words that are placed after the root word to change its meaning.

• Some of the suffix are: less, ful, ment, ion, ive, dom, ism, ness, ship etc.