Exploring vocabulary - Muschla Gary R. 2012

Left-handed animal
Antonyms, I

An antonym is a word that has the opposite, or nearly opposite, meaning of another word.

1. failure (n): defeat; not being successful

Antonyms: success; triumph; achievement

The team’s failure to follow their game plan led to the loss of the championship.

2. firm (adj): hard; solid; steady

Antonyms: soft; unstable

The foundation for the stage was firm.

3. dangerous (adj): unsafe; harmful

Antonyms: safe; harmless

The old wooden bridge looked dangerous.

4. inexpensive (adj): cheap; costing little; of poor quality

Antonyms: expensive; costly

Because of the big sale, all of the DVDs were inexpensive.

5. obey (v): to follow orders; to heed

Antonyms: disobey; defy; ignore

It is important to obey safety rules.

6. argue (v): to disagree; to quarrel; to dispute

Antonyms: agree; accept; consent

Lisa and her sister sometimes argue over silly things.

7. doubt (v): to be unsure; to question; to disbelieve

Antonyms: believe; trust

With the warm temperatures, I doubt it will snow.

8. special (adj): unusual; rare; uncommon

Antonyms: common; usual

In our family, birthdays are special days.

9. avoid (v): to stay away from; to keep out of the way of; to dodge

Antonyms: meet; welcome; face

Using sunscreen is a way to avoid sunburn.

10. spacious (adj): roomy; ample; sizable

Antonyms: cramped; crowded; small

Our hotel room was spacious and comfortable.

Vocabulary Tip

Along with synonyms, a thesaurus often contains antonyms of words.

3.1 Left-handed animal

Just like people, animals may be right-handed or left-handed (or right-pawed or left-pawed). Many wildlife experts believe that all members of a certain species are left-handed. What are these animals?

To answer the question, find the meaning of each word below. Choose your answers from the choices that follow each word. Write the letter of each answer in the space above its line number at the bottom of the page. You will need to divide the letters into words.

1. special:

A. kind

E. unusual

U. element

2. firm:

R. solid

T. heavy

D. support

3. obey:

E. compare

A. heed

O. break

4. failure:

Y. believe

I. example

A. defeat

5. avoid:

D. strike

N. gather

S. dodge

6. dangerous:

O. harmful

I. result

H. enjoyable

7. spacious:

E. thoughtful

R. roomy

T. small

8. doubt:

H. honesty

S. humor

B. disbelieve

9. inexpensive:

L. cheap

E. sale

O. tough

10. argue:

S. awful

P. disagree

T. agree