Siemens Scholarship Program

Batch 3, Year 3
Topic 21
we are going to learn about

 Antonyms

and
 How to answer antonym questions

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An antonym is a word which means the opposite of
another word.

Example:
Abundant and scarce
 Abundant means available in large quantities .
 Scarce means occurring in small numbers.
 As these two words mean the opposite of each
other, they are called antonyms.

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 Give you a word as the question
 Ask you to find the antonym of the given word
 Give you options to choose from

Example:
Impudent
a) audacious b) polite c) brash
d) inane e) parody

Here, the word in question, IMPUDENT, means disrespectful.

Out of the given options, polite is the opposite of impudent.
Hence option ‘b’ is the answer.

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Think of the contextual meaning.
If the word in question seems unfamiliar to you, try to think of
its contextual meaning. Think of a sentence in which you have
heard or read it.
Example:
SCHOLARLY
a) bewildered b) obnoxious
c) illiterate d) vapid
e) venerable
In this question, if you are not sure of the meaning of the word scholarly,
 think of the contextual meaning.
 think of a sentence in which you have read it.
 immediately, we are reminded of the word scholar. We know that
scholar means a learned person. So, the opposite of this is option ‘c’.
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Think of a word in your mind BEFORE you look at
the options.

Example:
 TIMID
Before you look at the options for this word in
question, think of possible antonyms for timid. Timid
means frightened. So, the opposite of timid should be
bold.
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After thinking of a word in mind, look at the options
given
 TIMID
a) stealthy
b) swarthy
c) whimsical
d) daring
e) cowardly

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Next, use process of elimination.

Example:
TIMID
a) Stealthy (eliminated)
b) Swarthy (eliminated)
c) Whimsical (eliminated)
d) Daring (not eliminated)
e) Cowardly (eliminated)
Hence, option ‘d’ is the answer.

Since we have the word bold in mind, we should eliminate all the
words that do not mean bold.

Note : It is important to read all the options before you decide on the
answer.
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Think of a secondary meaning of the word in question.

Example :
WANT
a) Abundance
b) Lack
c) Deficit
d) Shortage
e) Requirement

In this example, it is clear that want does not mean need . Hence, it is
obvious that it has a secondary meaning. The secondary meaning of
want is absence. The opposite of absence is abundance. Hence,
option ‘a’ is the answer.

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If a word looks unfamiliar, think of it in a different part of
speech.

EXAMPLE:
 LEISURELY
a) disorderly
b) ghastly
c) grisly
d) hurriedly
e) slowly

In this example, if the word leisurely is unfamiliar, try changing the

part of speech. For instance, you can change it to leisure. The
opposite of leisure is to hurry. Hence, option ‘d’ is our answer.

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 Consider the word in question.
 If you do not understand it, think of the contextual
meaning of the word.
 Check if the word has a secondary meaning.
 If you still cannot decipher the meaning, try changing it
to a different part of speech.
 After understanding the word, think of a possible
answer in your mind.
 Then, look at the options
 Use process of elimination.
 Arrive at the correct answer.
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