Synonyms and Antonyms for ESL: Definition and Examples

Learning synonyms and antonyms helps build vocabulary. English learners can use the charts below to begin learning how to use this technique. Teachers can print out the charts of synonym and antonym examples for students to follow.

To start with here are the definitions of synonyms and antonyms.

Synonym Definition

A word or phrase that means the same, or nearly the same as another word or phrase.

big - large
heavy - weighty
thin - slim

Antonym Definition

A word or phrase that means the opposite or nearly the opposite of another word or phrase.

tall - short
thick - thin
difficult - easy

One excellent technique for improving your vocabulary is to learn synonyms and antonyms together. You can create a chart listing both synonyms and antonyms including example sentences to help you memorize new vocabulary. Synonyms and antonyms can be learned in categories such as adjectives, adverbs, and adverbs. It's good to begin building vocabulary by learning categories of English synonyms and antonyms. To get you started, here are several synonyms and antonyms arranged into categories for beginner- to advanced-level English learners.

Synonym and Antonym Examples

Adjectives: Beginner level

Nouns: Beginner to intermediate levels

Word	Synonym	Antonym	Example Sentences
big	large	small	He has a big house in California. She has a small apartment in Manhattan.
difficult	hard	easy	The test was very difficult. I think riding a bike is easy.
new	recent	used	I bought a recent book. She drives a used car.
clean	tidy	dirty	He keeps his house tidy. The car is dirty and needs to be washed.
safe	secure	dangerous	The money is secure in the bank. Walking through downtown at midnight is dangerous.
friendly	outgoing	unfriendly	Tom is outgoing with everyone. There are many unfriendly people in this town.
good	great	bad	That's a great idea! He's a bad tennis player.
cheap	inexpensive	expensive	Homes are inexpensive at the moment. That car is very expensive.
interesting	fascinating	boring	That's a fascinating story. That TV show is boring.
quiet	still	noisy	It's nice and still in this room. The children are very noisy today.

Word	Synonym	Antonym	Example Sentences
student	pupil	teacher	The pupils are in their seats. The teacher began the class.
owner	director	employee	The director hired three new people. The employees are very happy with their jobs.
earth	ground	water	The ground here is very rich. You need water to live.
day	daylight	night	It's daylight out. Get up! I usually go to bed early at night.
answer	response	question	What is your response? She asked him a number of questions.
beginning	start	end	The start is at 8 am. The end of the book is very good.
man	male	woman	Tim is a male. Jane is a woman.
dog	puppy	cat	I'd like to get a puppy. The cat meowed so I let her in the house.
food	cuisine	drink	Let's eat some French cuisine tonight. She had a drink after work.
boy	lad	girl	The lad is waiting for you in the other room. There are four girls in the class.

Word	Synonym	Antonym	Example Sentences
fast	quickly	slowly	He drives very quickly. I slowly walked through the park.
carefully	cautiously	carelessly	Tim walked cautiously through the room checking everything. Those who drive carelessly will probably have an accident.
always	all the time	never	She eats lunch at her desk all the time. She never goes to the dentist.
seriously	thoughtfully	thoughtlessly	He thoughtfully answered the question. She speaks about her private life thoughtlessly.
colorfully	plainly	brightly	She painted the picture plainly. He brightly spoke about his adventures.