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.'
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
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard