Antonyms and Synonyms - Reading Skill for Chapter 14

Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. Synonyms are pairs of words that mean the same or nearly the same.

Examples:

“What you need to learn, children” she always said, in her resonant, precise voice, “is the difference between right and wrong in every area of life.”

Synonyms for resonant are strong, booming, ringing, deep, reverberating.
Antonyms for resonant are weak, soft, quiet.

 

She found Poppy sitting on the floor of the shop, enmeshed in a tangle of yellow yarn.

Synonyms for enmeshed are entangled, trapped, and ensnared.
Antonyms for enmeshed are straighten out and untangled.

Practice – In the blank spaces before each set of words write Antonyms if the words in the list mean the opposite or Synonyms if the words have nearly the same meanings.

1.      But Poppy only chortled happily.

___________ chortle – cry, wail, weep, sob, blubber, whimper

 

2.      She thought about the mayor, down in his room full of plunder, gorging on peaches and asparagus and wrapping his huge body in elegant new clothes.

___________ gorge – overeat, stuff yourself, be gluttonous

 

3.      He spoke in an excited rush.

___________ rush – sluggish, unhurried, dawdling

 

4.      He did an impatient shuffle.

___________ impatient – tolerant, serene, enduring

 

5.      They went down the long stairway and out into the main tunnel, where the river thundered alongside the path, its dark surface strewn with flecks of light.

___________ thunder – boom, rumble

 

6.      In Doon’s box were dozens of small packets wrapped in a slippery material.

___________ slippery – greasy, slick, slimy

 

7.      There were strange bulging shapes creased with lines like the faces of the very old.

___________ bulging – curved in, sunken, dipped, hollow

 

8.      They stared at each other, their mouth open in astonishment.

___________ astonishment – surprise, amazement, wonder, bewilderment

 

9.      Lina held the movable light at arm’s length before her.

___________ movable – fixed, rooted, set

 

10.  All Lina’s excitement flooded back.

___________ excitement – enthusiasm, thrill, exhilaration

 

11.  Lina was on her feet now, bouncing with excitement.

___________ bouncing – lively, active, vigorous, full of life

 

12.  Together they squinted at the paper in the dim light from the main tunnel.

___________ dim – bright, brilliant, intense, light

 

13.  Behind it was a space of utter darkness.

___________ utter – complete, absolute, total

 

14.  She knelt down and touched it cautiously with her hands.

___________ cautiously – carefully, watchfully, guardedly

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