Many classroom and standardized exams utilize questions requiring a student to provide the antonym (or opposite) of a word. The following lists of antonyms are helpful vocabulary words to have in your word arsenal. Learn each word's meaning as well as its opposite word. Don't forget to learn the stem change in parentheses following any stem-changing verb.
Verbs and their opposites
|
Verb
|
Antonym
|
|
aburrirse (to be bored)
|
divertirse (
e>
ie) (to have fun)
|
|
admitir (to admit)
|
negar (
e>
ie) (to deny)
|
|
alejarse de (to go away from)
|
acercarse a (to get close to)
|
|
amar,
querer (
e>
ie) (to love)
|
odiar (to hate)
|
|
aparecer (to appear)
|
desaparecer (to disappear)
|
|
apresurarse (to hurry)
|
tardar en (to delay)
|
|
bajar (to go down, to lower)
|
subir (to go up, to raise)
|
|
bendecir (to bless)
|
maldecir (to curse)
|
|
cansar (to tire)
|
descansar (to rest)
|
|
cerrar (
e>
ie) (to close)
|
abrir (to open)
|
|
comprar (to buy)
|
vender (to sell)
|
|
dar (to give)
|
recibir (to receive)
|
|
dejar caer (to drop)
|
recoger (to pick up)
|
|
descubrir (to discover)
|
cubrir (to cover)
|
|
despertarse (
e>
ie) (to wake up)
|
dormirse (
o>
ue) (to fall asleep)
|
|
destruir (to destroy)
|
crear (to create)
|
|
desvanecerse (to disappear)
|
aparecer (to appear)
|
|
elogiar (to praise)
|
censurar (to criticize)
|
|
empezar (
e>
ie) (to begin)
|
terminar (to finish)
|
|
encender (
e>
ie) (to light, to turn off)
|
apagar (to extinguish, to turn on)
|
|
entrar (to enter)
|
salir (to exit)
|
|
gastar (to spend [money])
|
ahorrar (to save [money])
|
|
hablar (to speak)
|
callar (to be quiet)
|
|
ignorar (to not know [a fact])
|
saber (to know [a fact])
|
|
jalar (to pull)
|
empujar (to push)
|
|
jugar (
o>
ue) (to play)
|
trabajar (to work)
|
|
juntar (to join)
|
separar (to separate)
|
|
levantarse (to get up)
|
sentarse (
e>
ie) (to sit down)
|
|
meter (to put in)
|
sacar (to take out)
|
|
nacer (to be born)
|
morir (
o>
ue) (to die)
|
|
perder (
e>
ie) (to lose)
|
ganar (to win) or
encontrar (
o>
ue) (to find)
|
|
permitir (to permit)
|
prohibir (to prohibit)
|
|
preguntar (to ask)
|
responder,
contestar (to answer)
|
|
prestar (to lend)
|
pedir (
e>
ie)
prestado (to borrow)
|
|
quedarse (to stay)
|
irse, salir, marcharse (to leave)
|
|
quitarse (to take off)
|
ponerse (to put on)
|
|
recordar (to remember)
|
olvidar (to forget)
|
|
reír (
e>
i) (to laugh)
|
llorar (to cry)
|
|
sumar (to add)
|
restar (to subtract)
|
|
tomar (to take)
|
dar (to give)
|
|
unir (to unite)
|
dividir, desunir (to divide)
|
|
vaciar (to empty)
|
llenar (to fill)
|
|
Nouns and their opposites
Nouns ending in -
o may also end in -
a, -
os, or -
as. In the following list, if a noun is listed without an article and refers to a person, it can be masculine or feminine. All other nouns have a predetermined gender that is indicated by the definite article:
|
Noun
|
Antonym
|
|
amigo (friend)
|
enemigo (enemy)
|
|
el amor (love)
|
el odio (hatred)
|
|
la capacidad (ability)
|
la incapacidad (inability)
|
|
la dama (lady)
|
el caballero (gentleman)
|
|
la derrota (defeat)
|
la victoria (victory)
|
|
el descuido (carelessness)
|
el esmero, el cuidado (caution)
|
|
el éxito (success)
|
el fracaso (failure)
|
|
el fin (end)
|
el principio (beginning)
|
|
gigante (giant)
|
enano (dwarf)
|
|
la hembra (female)
|
el varón (male)
|
|
la ida (departure)
|
la vuelta (return)
|
|
la juventud (youth)
|
la vejez (old age)
|
|
la lentitud (slowness)
|
la rapidez (quickness)
|
|
la libertad (freedom)
|
la esclavitud (slavery)
|
|
la luz (light)
|
la sombra (shadow)
|
|
la llegada (arrival)
|
la partida (departure)
|
|
la mentira (lie)
|
la verdad (truth)
|
|
la paz (peace)
|
la guerra (war)
|
|
el peligro (danger)
|
la seguridad (security, safety)
|
|
la pobreza (poverty)
|
la riqueza (wealth)
|
|
el porvenir (future)
|
el pasado (past)
|
|
la pregunta (question)
|
la respuesta (answer)
|
|
el ruido (noise, sound)
|
el silencio (silence)
|
|
la salida (exit)
|
la entrada (entrance)
|
|
el sur (south)
|
el norte (north)
|
|
la vida (life)
|
la muerte (death)
|
|
Adjectives and their opposites
Remember that adjectives change to match the nouns or pronouns they modify. Below, the adjectives are listed in their singular masculine form. Adjectives ending in
-o may also end in
-a, -os, or
-as. Other adjectives have a singular and plural form only.
|
Adjective
|
Antonym
|
|
antipático (mean)
|
simpático (nice)
|
|
ausente (absent)
|
presente (present)
|
|
bajo (short)
|
alto (tall)
|
|
bueno (good)
|
malo (bad)
|
|
caro, costoso (expensive)
|
barato (cheap)
|
|
cobarde (cowardly)
|
valiente (brave)
|
|
cómico (funny)
|
trágico (tragic)
|
|
común (common)
|
raro (rare)
|
|
corto (short)
|
largo (long)
|
|
débil (weak)
|
fuerte (strong)
|
|
delgado (thin)
|
gordo (fat)
|
|
diferente (different)
|
mismo (same)
|
|
desgraciado (unfortunate)
|
afortunado (fortunate)
|
|
distinto (different)
|
semejante (similar)
|
|
dulce (sweet)
|
amargo (bitter)
|
|
duro (hard)
|
suave (soft, smooth)
|
|
estrecho (narrow)
|
ancho (wide)
|
|
estúpido (stupid)
|
inteligente (intelligent)
|
|
fácil (easy)
|
difícil (difficult)
|
|
fatigado (tired)
|
descansado (rested)
|
|
flojo (lazy)
|
aplicado (industrious)
|
|
flojo (loose)
|
apretado (tight)
|
|
frío (cold)
|
caliente (hot)
|
|
feo (ugly)
|
hermoso (beautiful)
|
|
flaco (thin)
|
gordo (fat)
|
|
grande (big)
|
pequeño (small)
|
|
hablador (talkative)
|
taciturno (not talkative)
|
|
humilde (humble)
|
orgulloso (proud)
|
|
inocente (innocent)
|
culpable (guilty)
|
|
interesante (interesting)
|
aburrido (boring)
|
|
lejano (distant)
|
cercano (near)
|
|
limpio (clean)
|
sucio (dirty)
|
|
listo (clever)
|
tonto (foolish)
|
|
lleno (full)
|
vacío (empty)
|
|
mejor (better)
|
peor (worse)
|
|
menor (younger)
|
mayor (older)
|
|
moderno (modern)
|
antiguo (old)
|
|
mojado (wet)
|
seco (dry)
|
|
mucho (a lot)
|
poco ([a] little)
|
|
natural (natural)
|
artificial (artificial)
|
|
necesario (necessary)
|
innecesario (unnecessary)
|
|
occidental (western)
|
oriental (eastern)
|
|
oscuro (dark)
|
claro (light, clear)
|
|
perezoso (lazy)
|
diligente (diligent)
|
|
pesado (heavy)
|
ligero (light)
|
|
primero (first)
|
último (last)
|
|
privado (private)
|
público (public)
|
|
recto (straight)
|
tortuoso (winding)
|
|
sabio (wise)
|
tonto (foolish)
|
|
tranquilo (calm)
|
turbulento (restless)
|
|
triste (sad)
|
feliz (happy)
|
|
usual (usual)
|
extraño (unusual)
|
|
útil (useful)
|
inútil (useless)
|
|
viejo (old)
|
joven (young) or
nuevo (new)
|
|
More useful words and their opposites
|
aquí (here)
|
allí (there)
|
|
arriba (above)
|
abajo (below)
|
|
Antonyms and Synonyms
Spelling and Pronunciation