INVOLVING ANTONYMS

INVOLVING ANTONYMS. Do this as a sentence completion cloze activity e.g The opposite of hot is or use a question-and-answer format e.g What is the opposite of hot, or as a confrontation naming task using pictures in which the child has to name opposites pictures as rapidly as they can e.g hot cold, wet dry, big little, fast slow, deep shallow, apart together.

Play word games involving differences For example, What is different about a bird and a plane They can both fly, but they are different because Checking test Each of the following questions begins with a single word in capital letters.

Five answer choices follow. Select the answer choice that has the meaning most opposite to the word in capitals. 1.CEDEA estimate B fail C get ahead of D flow out of E retain 2. ACRID A surly B vapid C damp D steady E sweet 3. NOISOME A lurid B healthful C peaceful D morose E rancorous Answers This question type is heavily based on vocabulary. The better your vocabulary, the better you will do. But there are a few tricks you can try to use. For example, if a choice doesn t have a clear opposite, it can t be the correct answer.

Such words as hinterland or automobile don t have very clear opposites and would be incorrect if you were to see them as answer choices. In this case, answer choice A does not have a clear opposite and can be eliminated even if you don t know what cede means. Also, if it s a tough question and the keyword is really hard, remember to stay away from choices that are too good to be true. The hard questions, which are the last few questions of each question type, often contain choices that are misleading or tricky.

For instance, the word cede will remind many people of succeed, so they ll pick B. But the test maker will never reward students for making mistakes. B can t be correct. By the same logic, you could probably eliminate C and D because cede will remind some people of recede, as in receding tide. That leaves you with choice E as the right answer.

Cede actually means to yield or surrender, which is in fact the opposite of retain. Note You will seldom, if ever, be able to eliminate all four wrong answers to an antonym question just by using these kinds of guessing strategies. They can help you eliminate a few choices and increase your guessing odds, but the best way to tackle antonyms is to know what kinds of words tend to show up on the GRE, make flashcards of them, and improve your vocabulary. 1. C Cede is to give up one s rights or possessions.

The most opposite phrase in meaning is to get ahead of. 2. E Something that is ACRID is sharp and biting to taste or smell. The word most opposite in meaning is sweet. 3. B NOISOME can mean harmful or injurious. The best opposite to this is therefore healthful.