If you were an antonym by Nancy Loewen
~If you were an antonym, you might be early or late or big or small.
If you were an antonym, you would be a word that means the opposite of another word. Opposite means to be completely different from something else.
~The room could be dark or light.
~You could be happy or sad.
If you were an antonym, you could be a complementary antonym. You would be all or nothing. You would either be one thing or the other.
~Your dad’s radio is either on or off.
~If you flip a coin, you get either heads or tails.
If you were an antonym, you could be a relational antonym. You would be in a pair with your opposite. You would have no meaning without your opposite.
~In order to be a student, you must have a teacher.
~In order to be a parent, you must have a child.
If you were an antonym, you could be a graded antonym. You could show how words are related. Empty and Full are antonyms, but between empty and full are many possibilities.
~The cookie jar might be half full or nearly empty.
~The cookie jar might be almost full or mostly empty.
If you were an antonym, you could have a prefix. A prefix is added to the beginning of a word. Adding a prefix can completely change a word’s meaning.
~Sense becomes nonsense.
~Lucky becomes unlucky.
If you were an antonym, you could have a suffix. A suffix is added to the end of a word. Adding a suffix can also change a word’s meaning.
~Hopeful becomes hopeless.
~Careful becomes careless.
If you were an antonym, your opposite would be a synonym. Synonyms are words that mean the same thing.
~Sick and ill are synonyms. They mean the same thing.
~Sick and well are antonyms. They mean opposite things.
If you were an antonym, you could be an autoantonym. You would be a word that has two meanings that are opposite of each other.
~A bill can be a piece of paper money.
~A bill can also be a statement saying that you owe money.
You would always be an opposite, if you were an antonym!
