In nature – and in language – there is an abundance of opposites. Call them antonyms if you want to get fancy, but below is an alphabetical list of 275 things that are exactly different.
- absence – presence
- accept – refuse
- accurate – inaccurate
- advantage – disadvantage
- alive – dead
- always – never
- ancient – modern
- answer – question, query
- approval – disapproval
- approached – receded, departed
- abundant – scarce
- admit – deny
- advance – retreat, retire
- artificial – natural
- arrival – departure
- ascend – descend
- attack – defense
- attractive – repulsive
- attention – inattention
- asleep – awake
- ally – enemy
- agree – disagree
- bad – good
- backward – forward, onward
- bend – straighten
- beautiful – ugly
- beginning – ending
- below – above
- bent – straight
- big – small, little
- blunt – sharp
- better – worse
- best – worst
- black – white
- blame – praise
- bless – curse
- bitter – sweet
- borrow – lend
- bravery – cowardice
- build – destroy, demolish
- bold – timid, meek
- bright – dull
- broad – narrow
- clear – vague, cloudy
- careful – rush, careless
- calm – troubled
- capable – incapable
- captivity – freedom, liberty
- cellar – attic
- cheap – dear, expensive
- close – distant
- clever – stupid
- cold – hot
- combine – separate
- clockwise – anti-clockwise
- correct – incorrect
- conceal – reveal
- come – go
- common – rare
- comfort – discomfort
- courage – cowardice
- cruel – kind
- courteous – discourteous, rude
- cunning – simple
- dainty – clumsy
- danger – safety
- dark – light
- deep – shallow
- decrease – increase
- definite – indefinite
- demand – supply
- despair – hope
- disappear – appear
- disease – health
- discourage – encourage
- dismal – cheerful
- doctor – patient
- dry – wet
- dull – clear, bright
- dusk – dawn
- early – late
- easy – difficult
- ebb – flow
- East – West
- economise – waste
- encourage – discourage
- entrance – exit
- employer – employee
- empty – full
- excited – calm
- end – beginning
- expand – contract
- expensive – inexpensive, cheap
- export – import
- exterior – interior
- external – internal
- fail – succeed
- false – true
- feeble – sturdy, strong, powerful
- foolish – wise
- fast – slow
- few – many
- famous – unknown
- forelegs – hind legs
- fat – thin
- find – lose
- first – last
- freedom – captivity
- fold – unfold
- frequent – seldom
- forget – remember
- found – lost
- fresh – stale
- friend – enemy
- fortunate – unfortunate
- frank – secretive
- full – empty
- generous – mean
- gentle – rough
- gather – distribute
- glad – sorry
- gloomy – cheerful
- giant – dwarf, pygmy
- granted – refused
- great – minute, small, little
- guardian – ward
- guest – host
- guilty – innocent
- happy – sad, miserable
- hard – soft
- harmful – harmless
- hasten – dawdle
- hate – love
- healthy – unhealthy, ill, diseased
- here – there
- heavy – light
- height – depth
- hero – coward
- hill – valley
- horizontal – vertical
- hinder – aid, help
- honest – dishonest
- humble – proud
- hunger – thirst
- imitation – genuine
- immense – tiny, minute
- imprison – free
- include – exclude
- increase – decrease
- inhabited – uninhabited
- inferior – superior
- inside – outside
- intelligent – unintelligent, stupid
- inhale – exhale
- interior – exterior, outside
- interesting – uninteresting, dull
- internal – external
- intentional – accidental
- join – separate
- junior – senior
- justice – injustice
- king – subject
- knowledge – ignorance
- laugh – cry
- lawful – unlawful
- lazy – industrious, energetic
- land – sea
- landlord – tenant
- large – little, small
- last – first
- lawyer – client
- lecturer – student
- lender – borrower
- lengthen – shorten
- left – right
- less – more
- light – dark, heavy
- like – dislike, unlike
- likely – unlikely
- leader – follower
- little – large, much, big
- lofty – lowly
- long – short
- loud – soft
- loss – find, win
- low – high
- loyal – disloyal
- mad – sane
- magnetize – demagnetize
- master – servant
- mature – immature
- maximum – minimum
- me – you
- merry – mirthless, sad
- minority – majority
- miser – spendthrift
- misunderstand – understand
- narrow – wide
- near – far, distant
- neat – untidy
- new – old
- night – day
- noisy – quiet
- North – South
- obedient – disobedient
- odd – even
- offer – refuse
- open – shut
- optimist – pessimist
- out – in
- parent – child
- past – present
- patient – impatient
- peace – war
- peanut butter – jelly
- permanent – temporary
- please – displease
- plentiful – scarce
- poetry – prose
- possible – impossible
- poverty – wealth
- powerful – feeble, weak
- polite – impolite, rude
- private – public
- prudent – imprudent
- pretty – unsightly, ugly
- pure – impure
- qualified – unqualified
- rapid – slow
- regularly – irregularly
- rich – poor
- right – wrong, left
- rigid – pliable, soft
- rough – smooth
- satisfactory – unsatisfactory
- security – insecurity
- scatter – collect
- serious – trivial
- second-hand – new
- sense – nonsense
- shopkeeper – customer
- singular – plural
- simple – complicated
- slim – thick, stout
- solid – liquid
- sober – drunk
- speaker – listener
- sour – sweet
- sorrow – joy
- sow – reap
- stand – lie
- straight – crooked
- strong – weak
- success – failure
- sunny – cloudy
- take – give
- tall – short
- tame – wild
- teacher – pupil
- thick – thin
- tight – slack, loose
- top – bottom
- transparent – opaque
- truth – untruth, lie
- up – down
- vacant – occupied
- valuable – valueless
- victory – defeat
- virtue – vice
- visible – invisible
- voluntary – compulsory
- vowel – consonant
- wax – wane
- wisdom – folly
- within – without
