Antonyms

Strategy

If you have memorized the word lists in part 3 of this book, you’ll be able to eliminate two or three of the choices immediately because they are not even close or could not possibly relate to the original word.

Begin by making opposites of all the answer choices. If you are having trouble coming up with the opposite, don’t waste more than five seconds trying. Many words don’t have clear opposites, so you can just get rid of these choices.

ALTER

1. Altitude
2. Pirate
3. Inconsistent
4. Notorious
5. Stable

Explanation:

The best response is E.

The word alters means to change. The closest opposite is choice E- stable. Choice A, altitude and choice D, notorious do not relate to alter so are not possible answers. Choice B, pirate and choice C, inconsistent are in the synonym category. Use the word in a test sentence; recall the context in which you’ve heard the word before.

PATHOLOGICAL

1. Prolific
2. Cured
3. Diseased
4. Lazy
5. Abnormal

Explanation:

The best response is B.

Sentence: "One of my friends is a pathological liar.” pathological here refers to a negative characteristic, the correct choice is positive.

Too Broad and Too Narrow Words

Avoid choosing a word from the choices that is too broad or too limited to be an opposite.

VERBOSE

1. Filtered
2. Not talkative
3. Edited
4. Narrow-minded
5. Produce

Explanation:

The best response is B.

Verbose means using too many words in conversation or writing. Although choices A, C, and D, are all partial opposites because they contain the idea of restricting language, only B not talkative specifically refers to speech.

Working from the answer choices, eliminating similar choices, and looking for the choice that" stands out" can be useful.

DECAYED

1. Ruined
2. Condemned
3. Renovated
4. Destroyed
5. Shabby

Explanation:

The best response is C.

Choices A. ruined and D destroyed may be synonyms to the main word. Only choice C renovated is the opposite of decayed.

Try to detect whether a word is positive or negative in meaning. If the main word is positive, your choice must be negative and vice versa.

UNPREDICTABLE

1. Notorious
2. Orderly
3. Spurious
4. Aimless
5. Hectic

Explanation:

The best response is B.

Unpredictable is a negative word that means which cannot be predicted. Choices A, C, and D are also negative so they can not be the answers. Only choice B is positive.