What are antonyms in Russian

Antonyms (gr. anti- against + onyma- name) are words that differ in sound and have directly opposite meanings: truth - lie, good - evil, speak - remain silent. Antonyms usually refer to one part of speech and form pairs.

Modern lexicology considers synonymy and antonymy as extreme, limiting cases of, on the one hand, interchangeability, and on the other, opposition of words in content. At the same time, synonymous relations are characterized by semantic similarity, while antonymic relations are characterized by semantic difference.

Antonymy in language is presented as narrower than synonymy: only words that are correlative on some basis - qualitative, quantitative, temporal, spatial and belonging to the same category of objective reality as mutually exclusive concepts - enter into antonymic relations: beautiful - ugly, much - little, morning - evening, remove - bring closer. Words with other meanings usually do not have antonyms; compare: house, thinking, write, twenty, Kyiv, Caucasus. Most antonyms characterize qualities ( good - bad, smart - stupid, native - alien, dense - rare and under.); There are also many that indicate spatial and temporal relationships ( large - small, spacious - cramped, high - low, wide - narrow; early - late, day - night); fewer antonymous pairs with quantitative meaning ( many - few; single - numerous). There are opposite names for actions, states ( cry - laugh, rejoice - grieve), but there are few of them.

The development of antonymic relations in vocabulary reflects our perception of reality in all its contradictory complexity and interdependence. Therefore, contrasting words, as well as the concepts they denote, are not only opposed to each other, but are also closely related to each other. Word Kind, for example, evokes in our minds the word angry, distant reminds of close, speed up- O slow down.

Antonyms “are at the extreme points of the lexical paradigm,” but between them in the language there may be words that reflect the specified feature to varying degrees, i.e., its decrease or increase. For example: rich- wealthy - poor - poor - beggar; harmful- harmless - useless - useful . This opposition suggests a possible degree of strengthening of a characteristic, quality, action, or gradation (lat. gradatio- gradual increase). Semantic gradation (graduality), therefore, is characteristic only of those antonyms whose semantic structure contains an indication of the degree of quality: young - old, big - small, small - large and under. Other antonymic pairs are devoid of the sign of gradualism: up - down, day - night, life - death, man - woman.

Antonyms that have the attribute of gradualism can be interchanged in speech to give the statement a polite form; yes, it's better to say thin, how skinny; elderly, how old. Words used to eliminate the harshness or rudeness of a phrase are called euphemisms (gr. eu- good + phemi- I say). On this basis, they sometimes talk about antonyms-euphemisms, which express the meaning of the opposite in a softened form.

In the lexical system of the language one can also distinguish antonyms-conversives (lat. conversio- change). These are words expressing the relation of opposition in the original (direct) and modified (reverse) statement: Alexander gave book to Dmitry. - Dmitry took book from Alexander; Professor accepts test from the trainee.- Trainee rents out test for professor.

There is also intra-word antonymy in the language - antonymy of the meanings of polysemantic words, or enantiosemy (gr. enantios- opposite + sema - sign). This phenomenon is observed in polysemous words that develop mutually exclusive meanings. For example, verb move away can mean “come back to normal, feel better,” but it can also mean “die, say goodbye to life.” Enantiosemy becomes the reason for the ambiguity of such statements, for example: Editor looked through these lines; I listened to divertissement; Speaker misspoke and under.

According to their structure, antonyms are divided into multi-rooted (day - night) and single-rooted ( come - go, revolution - counter-revolution). The first form a group of actual lexical antonyms, the second - lexico-grammatical. In single-root antonyms, the opposite meaning is caused by various prefixes, which are also capable of entering into antonymic relationships; compare: V lay down - You lay down at put - from put, behind cover - from cover. Consequently, the opposition of such words is due to word formation. However, it should be borne in mind that adding prefixes to qualitative adjectives and adverbs not without- most often gives them the meaning of only a weakened opposite ( young - middle-aged), so that the contrast of their meaning in comparison with prefix-free antonyms turns out to be “muted” ( middle-aged- this does not mean “old”). Therefore, not all prefix formations can be classified as antonyms in the strict sense of the term, but only those that are extreme members of the antonymic paradigm: successful - unsuccessful, strong - powerless.

Antonyms, as already mentioned, usually form a pairwise correlation in a language. However, this does not mean that a particular word can have one antonym. Antonymic relations make it possible to express the opposition of concepts in an “unclosed” polynomial series, cf.: concrete - abstract, abstract; cheerful - sad, sorrowful, dull, boring.

In addition, each member of an antonymic pair or antonymic series can have its own synonyms that do not intersect in antonymy. Then a certain system is formed in which synonymous units are located vertically, and antonymous units are located horizontally. For example:

Such a correlation of synonymous and antonymic relations reflects the systemic connections of words in the lexicon. Systematicity is also indicated by the relationship between polysemy and antonymy of lexical units.

Cold and hot, shallow and deep, useful and harmful, independent and dependent, summer and winter, love and hate, joy and sadness, take off and land, start and end, good and bad, serious and frivolous. What do you think these words are? Antonyms! We will present examples of such words, as well as the concept of “antonym” itself, in this article.

Antonyms: concept

So, in the vocabulary of the modern Russian language there is such a thing as “antonyms”. Examples of words with opposite meanings can be given endlessly. Sweet - bitter; cute - disgusting; rise - fall; vanity - peace. These words are called antonyms.

The examples of words given above prove that only words that are the same part of speech can be called antonyms. That is, the words “love” and “hate”, “always” and “often”, “lighten” and “dark” are not antonyms. Can the adjectives “low” and “happy” be called antonyms? No, because words can only be compared based on one characteristic. And in our case there are two of them. In addition, if antonyms denote some quality, then they must possess or not possess this quality in equal measure. Thus, “frost” and “warmth” are not complete antonyms, since frost is a high degree of cold, and heat is an average degree of temperature above zero.

Antonyms-nouns: example words

In Russian, antonyms-nouns are found quite often. It should be noted that nouns that have antonyms have a connotation of quality in their meaning.

For example: integrity - unprincipledness; minus plus; income - losses; output - input; ascent - descent; day Night; light - darkness; word - silence; dream - reality; dirt - cleanliness; captivity - freedom; progress - regression; success - failure; youth - old age; purchase - sale; beginning - ending.

Adjectives with opposite meanings

Among adjectives you can find the largest number of pairs of antonyms.

Examples of words: empty - full; daytime - nighttime; perky - sad, happy - unhappy; light heavy; simple - complex; cheap - expensive; paid - free; confident - uncertain; main - secondary; significant - trifling; real - virtual, native - alien; obstinate - flexible; excited - calm; smooth - rough; artificial - natural; beloved - unloved; raw - dry.

Adverbs

In this regard, adverbs are in no way inferior to adjectives. There are also many antonyms among them.

Examples of words: easy - difficult; cheap - expensive; immediately - gradually; stupid - smart; banal - original; long - not for long; enough is not enough; intelligible - indistinct; right - wrong, cold - hot.

Antonym verbs: examples of words in Russian

There are also verbs with opposite meanings in the Russian language.

For example: scold - praise; take - give; work - idle; to get sick - to get better; get better - lose weight; refuse - agree; to accustom - to wean; notice - ignore; lose - find; increase - decrease; earn - spend; bury - dig up; leave - return; say goodbye - say hello; turn - turn away; iron - wrinkle; take off - put on; dress - undress.

Thus, almost all parts of speech are rich in antonyms. They can be found even among prepositions: in - from, on - under, etc.

Exercises

To consolidate the material you have learned, it is useful to perform several exercises.

1. Read a poem by a famous children's poet and find all the antonyms in it:

Here's a chat for the guys:

When they are silent, they do not speak.

When they sit in one place,

They don't travel.

What is far is not close at all.

But high, not very low.

And how to arrive without leaving.

And eat a nut, since there are no nuts.

Nobody wants to lie standing.

Pouring from empty to empty.

Don't write on white chalk

And don’t call idleness business.

2. Insert antonyms instead of dots:

1. ... feeds a person, but ... spoils him.
2. ... ... doesn't understand.
3. ...in body, yes...in deed.
4. ...for food, yes...for work.
5. ... saddled, but... galloped.
6. Day to day there is strife: today... and tomorrow...
7. Prepare the cart... and the sleigh...
8. One brother... and the second...
9. Today the sea... but yesterday it was completely...
10. Alyosha has an easy character: he remembers... and forgets...
11. You're always like this... why today...?
12. The root of the teaching..., but the fruits...

Exercise #1: are silent - they speak; far close; high - low; come - leave; lie down - stand; idleness is business.

Exercise #2:

1. Labor, laziness.
2. Full, hungry.
3. Small, big.
4. Healthy, sickly.
5. Early late.
6. Warm, frosty.
7. In winter, in summer.
8. Silent, talker.
9. Stormy, quiet.
10. Good evil.
11. Cheerful, joyful.
12. Bitter, sweet.

Antonyms are words that sound different and have opposite meanings: lie - truth, evil - good, remain silent - speak. Examples of antonyms show that they refer to the same part of speech.

Antonymy in the Russian language is represented much narrower than synonymy. This is explained by the fact that only words that are correlated qualitatively (good - bad, native - alien, smart - stupid, thick - sparse, high - low), temporal (day - night, early - late), quantitative (single - multiple, many - few), spatial (spacious - cramped, large - small, wide - narrow, high - low) characteristics.

There are antonymic pairs denoting the names of states and actions. Examples of antonyms of this kind: rejoice - grieve, cry - laugh.

Types and examples of antonyms in Russian

Antonyms according to their structure are divided into multi-rooted (morning - evening) and single-rooted (come in - go out). The opposite meaning of antonyms with the same root is caused by prefixes. However, it should be remembered that adding prefixes to adverbs without-, Not- in most cases, gives them the meaning of a weakened opposite (tall - short), so the contrast of their meanings turns out to be “muted” (short - this does not mean “low”). Based on this, not all prefix formations can be classified as antonyms, but only those that are the extreme points of the lexical paradigm: strong - powerless, harmful - harmless, successful - unsuccessful.

Antonyms, as well as synonyms, are in close connection with polysemy: empty - serious (conversation); empty - full (cup); empty - expressive (look); empty - meaningful (story). Examples of antonyms show that different meanings of the word "empty" are included in different antonymic pairs. Unambiguous words, as well as words with specific meanings (iamb, pencil, desk, notebook, etc.) cannot have antonyms.

Among antonyms, there is also the phenomenon of enantiosemy - this is the development of mutually exclusive, opposite meanings of some polysemantic words: carry (into the room, bring) - carry (from the room, take away); abandoned (phrase just spoken) - abandoned (abandoned, forgotten). The meaning in such cases is clarified in context. Enantiosemy is often the cause of ambiguity in certain expressions. Examples of antonyms of this kind: he listened to the report; the director looked at these lines.

Contextual antonyms are words that are contrasted in a specific context: moonlight - sunlight; not a mother, but a daughter; one day - a whole life; wolves are sheep. The polarity of the meanings of such words is not fixed in the language, and their opposition is an individual author’s decision. In such cases, the writer identifies the opposing qualities of various concepts and contrasts them in speech. However, such pairs of words are not antonyms.

Antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word and creates a semantic contrast in a pair of lexical units.

Antonyms in Russian

Two words with contradictory meanings form an antonymous pair. A word can have more than one antonym, which is due to the polysemy of lexical units in the Russian language. For example, the antonym of the word “light” (luggage) in the literal sense is “heavy”; in a figurative meaning, its antonymic connection with other words is observed: light (wind) - strong (wind), easy (task) - difficult (task).

Antonyms act as one part of speech; often refer to an adjective, since the antonymic relationships of words are based on common qualitative features (good - bad). Vivid contrasting concepts are also expressed by nouns (good - evil), adverbs (easy - difficult), etc. Not all words provide for the presence of antonyms, for example, some specific nouns (house, apple), colors do not imply contradictory words.

The reverse concept of an antonym is a synonym. Hot and cold are antonyms, while hot and hot are synonyms.

Types of antonyms

Depending on the nature of the connection between words that have opposite meanings, the following types are distinguished:

• linguistic, or dictionary, antonyms - antonyms built on the literal meaning of a word, for example: find - lose;
• additional, or complementary, antonyms are words whose opposite meanings are achieved by negating other words, for example: untruthful (implying “false”);
• contextual, or relational, antonyms are words that acquire antonymic meaning only within the context. The words “teacher” and “student” are not antonyms, but are contrasted in the context of their relationship.

Based on their morphological structure, they distinguish between single-root (come - leave) and multi-root (deep - shallow) antonyms.

Meaning of antonyms

Antonyms are common in folklore as a lexical antithesis, given their semantic binary position (Learning is light, and ignorance is darkness). Antonyms are widely used in oratory, fiction, and journalistic literature as a tool for enhancing the expressiveness and contrast of speech.

An example of the use of antonyms in literature

They got along. Wave and stone
Poetry and prose, ice and fire
(A. S. Pushkin; “Eugene Onegin”)

Antonyms are used by writers in the title to emphasize the antithetical structure of the work: “Poetry and Truth” by J. V. Goethe, “Cunning and Love” by F. Schiller, “The Splendor and Poverty of Courtesans” by O. de Balzac, “Red and Black” by Stendhal, “ Crime and Punishment" by F. M. Dostoevsky, "War and Peace" by L. N. Tolstoy, "Thick and Thin" by A. P. Chekhov, "The Prince and the Pauper" by M. Twain.

The use of antonyms in speech to express differences in qualities, objects, and phenomena that are homogeneous in nature is called antonymy. Antonymy underlies a number of stylistic figures built on the contrast of lexical meanings (oxymoron, chiasmus).

The word antonym comes from Greek anti – against and onyma, which translated means name, word.

This article will be devoted to such an interesting topic as antonyms. What are they and how are they used.

The essence of antonyms

Antonyms are words that differ not only in spelling. Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. So, for example, the antonym of the word “good” is the word “evil,” and the antonym of the word “friendship” is “enmity.”

Let's take a deeper look at this issue. Let's take two synonyms (words that are similar in meaning). For example, “beauty” and “charm”. The antonym of the word “beauty” is the word “ugliness”. Does this mean that if the word “ugliness” is an antonym for the word “beauty”, then it will be an antonym for the word “charm”. Yes, it does. Thus, we can draw a general conclusion: the antonym of a certain word will also be an antonym for the synonym of this word.

Using antonyms

Many foreign and Russian writers, poets and publicists used antonyms to show the contrast between two situations, between some two states. When two opposite words are used in the same sentence to show some radical difference, it is taken much more seriously and makes us think about what the author is trying to say. For example, this method of storytelling is often found when the author wants to convey to the reader his state of mind.

Lermontov wrote: “In her eyes there is light as in the sky, in her soul it is dark as in the sea.” By using two antonyms in such a beautiful form, the poet showed us the essence of things. Instead of writing several couplets, revealing the theme of the personality of the heroine to whom this line is dedicated, Lermontov made do with just one sentence.

From the above example it is clear that antonyms allow the author not only to shorten his narrative, but also to express his thoughts in a very poetic and original form. This gives him the opportunity to emphasize the uniqueness of his work.

Now you know that antonyms are not only a lexical definition, but also a special technique in creativity. This technique is called antonymy. If you have no attitude towards creativity, this does not mean that you cannot use this technique in your speech. There is a completely different attitude towards a person who knows how to eloquently express his thoughts.