Synonyms, antonyms and collocations
Choosing the right word: synonyms, antonyms, fixed collocations and easily confused pairs.
A synonym is a word with almost the same meaning as another word (big and large), while an antonym has the opposite meaning (big and small). Knowing synonyms and antonyms helps you understand texts and avoid repeating the same word. A collocation is a pair or group of words that English speakers naturally use together: we say 'make a decision' and 'do homework', not the other way round. Some verbs and adjectives have favourite partners — we 'make a mistake' but 'do a favour', and we say 'heavy rain' or 'strong coffee' but not 'strong rain'. Finally, some words look or sound similar but mean different things and must not be mixed up, such as lend/borrow, affect/effect and advice/advise. For example: 'Heavy rain affected the match, so the referee had to make a difficult decision.'
Key terms
| Word | Synonym | Antonym |
|---|---|---|
| enormous | huge | tiny |
| difficult | tough | easy |
| happy | glad | — |
| famous | well-known | unknown |
| cheap | inexpensive | expensive |
| beautiful | attractive | ugly |
| Collocation | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| make a decision | make | We had to make a difficult decision. |
| do your homework | do | Do your homework before you go out. |
| take a photo | take | Could you please take a photo of us? |
| heavy rain | heavy | We expect heavy rain this afternoon. |
| strong coffee | strong | I like strong coffee in the morning. |
| heavy traffic | heavy | There was heavy traffic on the motorway. |
- 1Sentence: She wants to ___ progress in her studies.
- 2Decide the meaning: 'Progress' is a result that is produced, not a chore or task, so we need the verb for creating results.
- 3Apply the rule: Use 'make' for creating or producing results, and 'do' for actions, tasks and jobs.
- 4Answer: make progress — 'She wants to make progress in her studies.'
- 1Sentence: It is important to ___ the rules of the competition before you take part.
- 2Compare the options: 'Watch', 'notice' and 'stare' all involve looking, but only one means 'to follow or obey rules'.
- 3Apply the rule: Even near-synonyms can be wrong if the collocation does not fit; 'observe' can mean 'follow the rules', while the others cannot.
- 4Answer: observe the rules — 'It is important to observe the rules of the competition.'
Do not mix up 'make' and 'do'. We make a decision, a mistake and progress, but we do homework, a favour and the housework. 'Make research' and 'do a decision' are wrong.
Collocations are fixed combinations. We say 'heavy rain' and 'strong coffee', not 'strong rain' or 'heavy coffee'; and a 'strong chance', not a 'heavy chance'.
Watch the direction of lend and borrow: you lend something TO someone but borrow it FROM someone. 'Could you lend me your pen?' but 'I need to borrow money from the bank.'
Near-synonyms differ by context and grammar. 'Affect' is a verb and 'effect' is a noun; 'advice' is a noun and 'advise' is a verb — choose the form the sentence needs.
Rules
- 1A synonym means (almost) the same; an antonym means the opposite — pick the one that fits the exact shade of meaning.
- 2Collocations are fixed word partnerships: make a decision/mistake, do homework/a favour, take a photo, heavy rain, strong coffee.
- 3Use 'make' for creating/producing results (make a plan) and 'do' for actions, tasks and jobs (do the shopping).
- 4Confusing pairs: you lend something TO someone but borrow it FROM someone; 'affect' is a verb and 'effect' is a noun; 'advice' is a noun and 'advise' is a verb.
- 5Always check the context: even true synonyms can be wrong if the collocation or register does not fit.
Practice
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