Synonyms Antonyms Homonyms And Homophones

What Are Synonyms, Antonyms and Homonyms?

Learning a word's meaning is simply one part of agreement that give-and-take. Once you lot know a word's antonyms, synonyms and homonyms, y'all tin can add together a lot of variety to speech and writing. Merely what are synonyms and antonyms, and what do they have to do with homonyms? Learn more near each blazon of word and how they can help increase your vocabulary.

Antonyms Synonyms and Homonyms Examples

What Are Synonyms?

Synonyms are words that share meanings with other words. They are used to add variety to writing and voice communication and let you to avert repetition. The words astonishing, astounding and marvelous are all synonyms. Their meanings are similar and tin be interchanged with 1 some other.

Synonyms must be the same part of spoken communication. For case, beautiful and princess have the aforementioned connotation of beauty, only they are not synonyms because beautiful is an describing word and princess is a noun.

Examples of synonym pairs include:

skill and ability
atomic number 82 and guide
guest and visitor
dear and admire
angry and furious

Synonyms make information technology possible for writers to create a certain mood with their subtle differences. For case, the verb "walk" sets a different stride than "saunter," and "beverage" implies a different mode than "guzzle." The differences are implied by the word selected, and when a writer is trying to paint a moving-picture show in a reader's mind, those differences can brand or break a writer's prose.

What Are Antonyms?

Words with opposite meanings are called antonyms. Like synonyms, antithesis pairs must be the aforementioned lexical category. Antonyms show a contrast between ii ideas.

Examples of antonym word pairs are:

full and empty
fail and succeed
happy and pitiful
tiny and enormous
wonderful and terrible

Some common prefixes bespeak that a discussion is an antonym to its root word. For example, the prefixes united nations- (unhappy, unwise), dis- (disinterested, dislike) and im- (improper, impolite) form a new word that is the opposite of its root word.

What Are Homonyms?

Homonyms are words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but unlike meanings. Because these words sound and expect the same but mean something different, they tin be a source of amusement, defoliation or even inspiration. Many puns are inspired past homonym mix-ups!

Some common homonyms include:

bat - an implement used to hit a ball (such every bit a baseball bat) or a nocturnal flying mammal (such as a fruit bat)
comport - a hibernating animal (such as a grizzly bear) or to carry something (such every bit begetting children)
fire - a flaming blaze (such as a forest burn down) or to stop someone from a chore (such as firing an employee)
trip - to stumble or fall (such as tripping on a adjourn) or a holiday (such as a summer trip)
picket - a wearable timepiece (such as a wristwatch) or to look at something (such as watching television)

Homonyms are frequently confused with homophones, which take the aforementioned pronunciation just are spelled differently, and homographs, which are pronounced differently but are spelled the aforementioned. Information technology'due south helpful to know whatsoever homonyms to a word that you're learning in gild to avert word mix-ups in the time to come.

Navigate Through Word Relationships

Still doubting whether you know the difference betwixt these dissimilar types of give-and-take relationships? Download and impress the PDF below for a handy reference guide for disruptive word choices.

antonyms synonyms homonyms and homophones chart

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Learning antonyms, synonyms and homonyms tin can exist tricky, simply having a few in your language belt will certainly help expand your vocabulary. Using a variety of these words will make your speech and writing more brilliant and exciting, and tin help you avoid being repetitive or stale.

Chief Discussion Meanings With Frayer Squares

Now that yous know what synonyms, antonyms and homonyms are, you can utilize them to practice new vocabulary words. An effective vocabulary strategy is the Frayer Square, which prompts students to draw a square with the new word in the middle. They divide the square into four sections, which are labeled:

definition - meaning of the discussion
synonyms (or examples) - iii or more words with the same meaning
antonyms (or non-examples) - iii or words with the opposite meaning
picture - a picture show that reminds the student of the give-and-take'southward definition

These exercises are helpful for English learners, students learning advanced vocabulary or professionals trying to larn very technical knowledge. Try them out — you lot may even adopt them to flashcards!

Playing With Your Vocabulary

Agreement how words chronicle to each other is a key part of making connections in linguistic communication arts. Once you tin navigate these discussion systems, y'all'll hands expand your vocabulary. Bank check out more examples of antonyms, synonyms and homonyms to acquire more about these concepts. If you'd like a simpler version of these differences, take a look at examples of word relationships for kids.