Synonyms, antonyms & word roots

A synonym is a word with a similar meaning (happy/glad). An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (happy/sad). Many English words are built from roots, prefixes and suffixes borrowed from Latin and Greek — knowing common ones helps you work out unfamiliar words. For example, the prefix "un-" often means "not" (unhappy = not happy), and the root "tele-" means "far" (telephone = far sound).

Key terms

Synonym:

A word with a similar meaning to another word.

Antonym:

A word with the opposite meaning to another word.

Prefix:

Letters added to the start of a word that change its meaning.

Questions

1. 1. A synonym is a word with:

   • A similar meaning
   • The opposite meaning
   • No meaning
   • A different spelling only

2. 2. An antonym is a word with:

   • A similar meaning
   • The opposite meaning
   • The same spelling
   • No meaning

3. 3. Which word is a synonym for "happy"?

   • Sad
   • Glad
   • Angry
   • Tired

4. 4. Which word is an antonym for "happy"?

   • Glad
   • Cheerful
   • Sad
   • Joyful

5. 5. A prefix is added to the:

   • End of a word
   • Start of a word
   • Middle of a word
   • Title of a book

6. 6. The prefix "un-" usually means:

   • Very
   • Not
   • Again
   • Before

7. 7. Which pair are antonyms?

   • Big, huge
   • Big, small
   • Big, large
   • Big, enormous

8. 8. Which word is a synonym for "enormous"?

   • Tiny
   • Huge
   • Quick
   • Quiet

9. 9. The word "telephone" contains the root "tele-", meaning:

   • Sound
   • Far
   • Small
   • Water

10. 10. Knowing that "bio-" means "life" helps you guess that "biology" means:

    • The study of far away places
    • The study of living things
    • The study of sound
    • The study of numbers

11. 11. Which word means the opposite of "ancient"?

    • Old
    • Modern
    • Historic
    • Aged

12. 12. A suffix is added to the:

    • Start of a word
    • End of a word
    • Middle of a sentence
    • Title of a text

13. 13. Which word is built using the prefix "re-" (meaning "again")?

    • Rewrite
    • Unhappy
    • Telephone
    • Biology

14. 14. Recognising common prefixes and roots is useful mainly because it helps you:

    • Work out unfamiliar words without a dictionary
    • Avoid reading altogether
    • Replace punctuation
    • Ignore vocabulary

15. 15. The word "autograph" combines "auto-" (self) and "graph" (write). It most likely means:

    • A self-written signature
    • A type of car
    • A type of graph paper
    • A photograph

16. 16. Which word most likely means "not visible", based on the prefix "in-" (not)?

    • Invisible
    • Invite
    • Inside
    • Insect

17. 17. "Benevolent" comes from roots meaning "good" (bene-) and "wish" (vol-). It most likely describes someone who is:

    • Unkind
    • Kind and well-wishing
    • Angry
    • Indifferent

18. 18. Which pair of words are true synonyms, not just related ideas?

    • Hot, cold
    • Fast, quick
    • Big, tiny
    • Up, down

19. 19. Knowing that "-phobia" means "fear of" helps you understand that "arachnophobia" means:

    • Love of spiders
    • Fear of spiders
    • Study of spiders
    • A type of spider

20. 20. Understanding roots, prefixes and suffixes is especially useful when reading because it:

    • Lets you work out the meaning of many unfamiliar but related words at once
    • Only works for one single word ever
    • Replaces the need for context clues entirely
    • Is unrelated to vocabulary