At the opposite ends of this scale of ‘attractiveness’ sit ugly and beautiful though, so they are gradable antonyms. Words such as “plain” or “average” might be used to describe somebody who is neither ugly nor beautiful.
That is to say, that words exist between the two of them that can describe the gray area in the middle of those scales. Gradable antonymsįor these types of antonyms, they are generally at opposite ends of a scale. To remember which antonyms are complementary and binary pairs, ask yourself if both can be true – if they can’t, then they are complete opposites and are complementary and binary pairs. Hopefully, the above examples have made the meaning of complementary and binary pair antonyms much clearer. True or false – again, something can’t be both true and false.Pass or fail – you cannot both pass and fail, so this is another clear cut example of a complementary and binary pair antonym.In short, if dead is applicable as a descriptive word for somebody, then alive cannot be, and vice versa. This makes them complementary and binary pair antonyms because they are very clear in their opposite meanings. Dead or alive – you cannot be anything other than these two, and dead is the absolute concrete opposite to alive.Let’s take a look at these more concrete examples of antonyms:
That is to say, all of these types of antonyms are the absolute opposite of the other words, and there is no room for confusion. Pin Opposites (Antonyms) Types of Antonyms/Opposites Complementary and Binary pairsĭon’t let the slightly complicated names for these different types of antonyms concern you, complementary and binary pairs are the easiest antonyms to understand because there is absolutely no gray area between them.
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