Opposite (semantics)
In lexical semantics,
opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs
big : small,
long : short, and
precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not the other pair member. For example, something that is
long entails that it is not
short. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members in a set of opposites. The relationship between opposites is known as
opposition. A member of a pair of opposites can generally be determined by the question
What is the opposite of X ? The term antonym is commonly taken to be synonymous with opposite, but antonym also has other more restricted meanings. Graded antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite and which lie on a continuous spectrum. Complementary antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite but whose meanings do not lie on a continuous spectrum. Relational antonyms are word pairs where opposite makes sense only in the context of the relationship between the two meanings.