Synonyms And Antonyms Notes & Questions | Class 5 English | Drishti OS

Synonyms And Antonyms

A synonym is a word that means almost the same as another word — happy and glad.
An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word — hot and cold.
Using synonyms makes your writing more interesting; knowing antonyms helps you understand contrast words like "but" and "however".
To choose the correct synonym or antonym for a word in a sentence.

Verbal: Synonyms let you avoid repeating the same word again and again in a paragraph.

Verbal: Antonyms are useful when comparing two different things — "The box is heavy, but the bag is light."

Real-life: A thesaurus is a book that lists synonyms — useful for making your stories richer.

Replace with a synonym: The dog ran fast towards its owner.

Step 1 — Find a synonym for 'fast'.
Step 2 — 'Quick' means the same as 'fast'.
Answer: The dog ran quick(ly) towards its owner.

Give the antonym of 'full'.

Step 1 — Think of the opposite of having a lot inside.
Step 2 — Having nothing inside is the opposite.
Answer: empty

Mistake	Why it happens	Fix
Confusing synonym with antonym	Not checking meaning direction	Ask: same meaning (synonym) or opposite (antonym)?
Picking an unrelated word	Guessing without reading meaning	Think of the word's meaning first
Overusing one word in writing	Not knowing alternatives	Learn 2-3 synonyms for common words
Ignoring word context	Some words have multiple meanings	Read the full sentence before choosing

Synonym of 'begin': ?
Antonym of 'day': ?
Synonym of 'huge': ?
Stretch: Write one sentence, then rewrite it using a synonym for one word and an antonym for another.

Revision tip: Make a two-column list — five synonym pairs and five antonym pairs — from words in your English textbook.

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Synonyms And Antonyms.