Tips & Tricks: Synonyms and Antonyms - Tips & Tricks for Government Exams - Bank Exams

Introduction

Synonyms

• A synonym is a word, or in some cases a phrase that has the same meaning as another word with regards to the same language. If the meaning is not exactly the same, the words have very similar meanings in the context.
• When two words are synonyms of one another, we call them synonymous words. Let us take the example of the word “jump”. The words leap, bounce, hop are all synonymous to jump, i.e. they have the same (or very similar) meanings.

Antonyms

• Now as opposed to a synonym, an antonym is a word whose meaning is exactly opposite to another word, in the same language. It originates from the Greek word “anti” which stands for opposite and “onym” which stands for “name”. For example the antonym for hot is cold, and the antonym for up is down.
• Antonyms are actually quite useful in the English language. At times it is easy to understand the meaning and the context of a difficult word, by knowing what the opposite of the word means. Take for example the word “mundane” whose synonym is “humdrum”. The antonym for mundane is “extraordinary” or “imaginative”. Now the word mundane has much better clarity.

Tips

1. Similar Options:

• Some words are eye-catchy, you immediately think it’s going to be the antonym/synonym, but most of the guesses are not gonna be right so go through the options once again unless you’re sure of the answer.

2. Over-cramming:

• Do not try to cram words and their meanings. Instead, try to understand the meaning of the word by reading its examples and usage.

3. Associate Words:

• When you have a word try to guess all its synonyms and from the answers see the exact word which has the same meaning, in the case of antonym the opposite meaning

4. Eliminate:

• You can use the elimination method in the exam. Out of the four options given, try to look for the meaning of all four. There are chances that you might know the meaning of at least 3 options. It will become easier for you to attempt the question that way.

5. Grammar Clues:

• Know the part of the speech the word is used in… For example, the word run can be used as a verb but it could also be used as a noun like ‘home run’ so make sure you know the part of the speech before answering.

Solved Examples