This is a list of possible answers for the 50 Opposites section of Charles Kay Ogden’s Basic English List. The words used for the answers are primarily from the Basic English 850-word list, and it can serve as a basis for a discussion or lesson for English language teachers and students.
| awake | sleeping (asleep) |
| bad | good |
| bent | straight |
| bitter | sweet |
| blue | * orange / happy |
| certain | doubtful (uncertain) |
| cold | warm (hot) |
| complete | short (incomplete) |
| cruel | kind |
| dark | light |
| dead | living (alive) |
| dear | * cheap / normal |
| delicate | strong (indelicate) |
| different | same |
| dirty | clean |
| dry | wet |
| false | true |
| feeble | strong |
| female | male |
| foolish | clever / smart / intelligent |
| future | past |
| green | * red |
| ill | healthy (well) |
| last | first |
| late | early |
| left | right |
| loose | tight |
| loud | quiet |
| low | high |
| mixed | sorted (unmixed) |
| narrow | wide |
| old | new |
| opposite | same (identical) |
| public | private |
| rough | smooth |
| sad | happy |
| safe | dangerous (unsafe) |
| secret | * public |
| short | long / tall |
| shut | open |
| simple | complex (complicated) |
| slow | quick (fast) |
| small | large / big |
| soft | hard |
| solid | broken (opaque / fluid) |
| special | common |
| strange | normal |
| thin | thick |
| white | black |
| wrong | right (correct) |
References
- Basic English (Wikipedia)
- Basic English word list (Wiktionary)
Downloads
- 50 Opposites (Word Document – ESL Printable)
- 50 Opposites Answers (Word Document – ESL Printable)
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