Opposites 1: verbs and adjectives

opposites 17 terms 18 questions TOEIC Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

English rarely builds an opposite by negation when a separate word exists: the opposite of borrow is lend, of guilty is innocent, of shallow is deep, of reward is punish. TOEIC Part 5 exploits this by offering the negated form as a distractor. This lesson drills the pairs where the real opposite is a different word entirely.

Your task

Complete each sentence with the opposite of the verb or adjective it contrasts with. In some cases more than one answer is possible.

Target vocabulary

succeed hollow permanent sharp punish public smooth approximate borrow guilty advance minor shallow present artificial accept destroy

Practice

Word bank

succeed hollow permanent sharp punish public smooth approximate borrow guilty advance minor shallow present artificial accept destroy

1 A project can fail or it can __________.

2 An object can be solid or it can be __________.

3 A job can be temporary or it can be __________.

4 A metal edge (on a knife, for example) can be blunt or it can be __________.

5 You can reward somebody for good behavior, or you can __________ them for bad behavior.

6 There are some things you can say in private that you should never say in __________.

7 A surface can be rough or it can be __________.

8 Calculations can be exact or they can be __________.

9 You can lend something to somebody, or you can __________ it from somebody.

10 In a court of law, a person can be found innocent or they can be found __________.

11 You can postpone a meeting to a later date, or you can __________ it to an earlier date.

12 In an accident, you might suffer from a major injury or a __________ one.

13 A pool of water can be deep or it can be __________.

15 Some students in the class were absent , but most of them were __________.

16 Some foods contain natural flavorings, but many contain __________ ones.

17 You can either __________ or reject an offer.

18 You can create something or you can __________ it.

19 You can admit doing something wrong, or you can __________ it.