Building your vocabulary is an important part of learning English, and a great way to expand your vocabulary is by memorizing antonym pairs, which are words with opposite meanings. Check out the list of 424 common antonym pairs we've compiled below!

If you want a fun way to keep practicing your antonym pairs while studying, as a game with friends, or as a classroom tool, we offer a set of flashcards on these as well as synonyms, idioms, sense words, and other useful vocabulary for English learners in our package 1,574 Flashcards All English Learners Need to Have. And if you want to keep practicing your new English vocabulary with a native speaker, we also offer English tutoring for learners across the world.

above - below

absent - present

abundance - lack

abundant - scarce

accept - decline

accidental - intentional

accurate - inaccurate

add - subtract

admit - deny

adult - child

advance - retreat

advanced - elementary

advantage - disadvantage

after - before

agree - disagree

ahead - behind

alive - dead

already - not yet

always - never

amateur - professional

amuse - bore

angel - devil

appear - disappear

approached - departed

approval - disapproval

approve - disapprove

arrival - departure

arrive - depart

ascend - descend

attention - inattention

attractive - repulsive

aunt - uncle

authentic - imitation

awake - asleep

bad luck - good luck

bald - hairy

beauty - ugliness

beg - offer

begin - end

beginning - ending

bend - straighten

best - worst

better - worse

black - white

bless - curse

body - soul

bold - timid

boring - stimulating

bound - unbound

boy - girl

brave - cowardly

bravery - cowardice

bright - dim

buy - sell

can - cannot

capable - incapable

careful - careless

cellar - attic

certain - uncertain

city - country

clean - dirty

clockwise - counterclockwise

close - distant

cloudy - clear

cold (noun) - heat

combine - separate

comfort - discomfort

complete - incomplete

conceal - reveal

condemn - praise

constant - changeable

construction - destruction

continue - interrupt

cool - warm

correct - incorrect

courteous - discourteous

create - destroy

cruel - kind

dangerous - safe

daughter - son

dawn - dusk

day - night

daytime - nighttime

deep - shallow

definite - indefinite

demand - supply

despair - hope

dictatorship - democracy

disease - health

disgrace - honor

down - up

downstairs - upstairs

downwards - upwards

dwarf - giant

early - late

east - west

easy - difficult

ebb - flow

employer - employee

encourage - discourage

enter - exit

even - odd

everybody - nobody

exactly - approximately

excited - calm

expand - contract

expensive - inexpensive

extinguish - ignite

fade - brighten

fall - spring

fancy - plain

fear - courage

feeble - powerful

female - male

fertile - barren

fiction - fact

first - last

fix - break

float - sink

floor - ceiling

fold - unfold

foolish - wise

for - against

forbid - allow

fore - aft

foreground - background

foreign - domestic

forelegs - hind legs

former - latter

fortunate - unfortunate

forward - backward

frank - secretive

freedom - captivity

freeze - melt

frequently - occasionally

fresh - stale

friend - enemy

from - to

front - back

full - empty

future - past

gain - loss

gather - distribute

general - particular

give - take

glad - sorry

gloomy - cheerful

go - stop

godfather - godmother

good - bad

graceful - clumsy

grant - refuse

granted - refused

grow - shrink

guardian - ward

guest - host

happy - sad

harmful - harmless

harmony - discord

harsh - mild

hasten - dawdle

haves - have-nots

heaven - hell

height - depth

help - hinder

here - there

hide - show

hill - valley

hilly - flat

him - her

hit - miss

honest - dishonest

hopeful - hopeless

horizontal - vertical

hot - cold

humble - proud

hunger - thirst

husband - wife

idle - busy

immigrate - emigrate

immigration - emigration

import - export

important - trivial

imprison - free

in - out

include - exclude

increase - decrease

inferior - superior

inhabited - uninhabited

inhale - exhale

inner - outer

innocent - guilty

inside - outside

insult - compliment

intelligent - unintelligent

interested - bored

interesting - uninteresting

interior - exterior

internal - external

jolly - unhappy

junior - senior

just - unjust

justice - injustice

keen - uninterested

king - subject

knowledge - ignorance

known - unknown

lady - gentleman

land - sea

landlord - tenant

large - small

laugh - cry

lawful - unlawful

lazy - energetic

lead - follow

leader - follower

lend - borrow

lender - borrower

length - width

lengthen - shorten

less - more

life - death

light - dark

like - dislike

likely - unlikely

limited - boundless

literal - figurative

little - big

live - die

lock - unlock

lofty - lowly

loose - tight

lost - found

love - hate

low - high

loyal - disloyal

magnetize - demagnetize

major - minor

majority - minority

man - woman

many - few

married - single

marry - divorce

mature - immature

me - you

men - women

minimum - maximum

miser - spendthrift

misunderstand - understand

mix - sort

moderate - extreme

modern - ancient

monarchy - republic

morning - evening

most - least

mother - father

nadir - zenith

naked - clothed

native - foreigner

natural - artificial

near - far

neat - messy

nice - nasty

niece - nephew

none of - all of

noon - midnight

normal - strange

north - south

nothing - everything

notice - ignore

nourish - starve

now - then

obedient - disobedient

obey - disobey

older - younger

on - off

open - closed

opposite - similar

optimist - pessimist

order - mess

ordinary - special

outskirts - center

over - under

parents - children

patient - impatient

perfect - faulty

plant - harvest

pleasant - awful

please - displease

poetry - prose

polite - rude

positive - negative

possible - impossible

poverty - wealth

presence - absence

preserve - waste

probably - certainly

protect - attack

prudent - imprudent

public - private

pure - impure

push - pull

qualified - unqualified

question - answer

quiet - loud

rainy - sunny

raise - lower

rare - common

raw - cooked

real - fake

regular - irregular

regularly - irregularly

reluctant - enthusiastic

remember - forget

repair - damage

reward - punishment

rich - poor

right - left

rigid - pliable

rough - smooth

rural - urban

sadness - happiness

safety - danger

same - different

sane - insane

satisfaction - dissatisfaction

satisfactory - unsatisfactory

satisfy - dissatisfy

save - spend

scatter - collect

second-hand - new

secure - insecure

security - insecurity

seldom - often

selfish - unselfish

send - receive

sense - nonsense

serious - silly

servant - master

set free - arrest

sharp - dull

she - he

shelter - exposure

shopkeeper - customer

sick - healthy

simple - complex

singular - plural

sister - brother

sit - stand

slim - fat

slow - fast

smart - dumb

smile - frown

soft - hard

solid - liquid

some - none

sorrow - joy

sow - reap

speaker - listener

start - finish

stationary - movable

straight - crooked

strengthen - weaken

strict - lenient

strong - weak

student - teacher

stupid - clever

succeed - fail

success - failure

sugar - salt

summer - winter

supporter - opponent

sweet - sour

synonym - antonym

tall - short

tame - wild

teach - learn

temporary - permanent

terrible - lovely

thankful - thankless

thick - thin

throw - catch

tiny - huge

together - apart

top - bottom

total - partial

tough - tender

tragedy - comedy

transparent - opaque

true - false

trust - suspect

truth - lie

ugly - pretty

unbreakable - fragile

unite - divide

unity - division

upside down - right-side up

urgent - leisurely

useful - useless

usually - rarely

vacant - occupied

valuable - valueless

victory - defeat

villain - hero

virtue - vice

visible - invisible

voluntary - compulsory

vowel - consonant

walk - run

war - peace

wax - wane

well - ill

wet - dry

whisper - scream

whole - part

wide - narrow

win - lose

winner - loser

wisdom - folly

work - rest

yes - no

yesterday - tomorrow

young - old

zip - unzip

Did you find this list of 424 common antonyms useful in expanding your English vocabulary? Remember, if you want to keep practicing these and other useful words, check out our set of fun and challenging flashcards, 1,574 Flashcards All English Learners Need to Have. And remember, if you want to practice one on one with a native English speaker, we offer personalized English tutoring for you, no matter your skill level or where you are in the world.

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