first three lectures

1. introdusing...

Definition

An antonym is a word having ameaning opposite to that of another word, such as hot andcold, short and tall. (See "Three Types of Antonyms," below.)Antonym is the antonym ofsynonym. Adjective:antonymous. Another word forantonym is counterterm.

Antonymy is the sense relation that exists between words which are opposite in meaning. Edward Finnegan defines antonymy as "a binary relationship between terms with complementary meanings" (Language: Its Structure and Use, 2012).

It's sometimes said that antonymy occurs most often among adjectives, but as Steven Jones et al. point out, it's more accurate to say that "antonym relations are more central to the adjective classes than to other classes" (Antonyms in English, 2012). Nouns can be antonyms (for example, courage andcowardice), as can verbs (arrive and depart), adverbs (carefully andcarelessly), and even prepositions (above and below). 

2. theme #2 English speakers

1. Contradictories represent the type of semantic relations that exist between pairs like, for example, dead – alive, single – married. Contradictory antonyms are mutually opposed, they deny one another. Contradictories form a privative binary opposition, they are members of two-term sets. To use one of the words is to contradict the other and to use “not” before one of them is to make it semantically equivalent to the other: not dead = alive; not single = married.

3. theme #3 Contraries

2. Contrariesare antonyms that can be arranged into a series according to the increasing difference in one of their qualities. The most distant elements of this series will be classified as contrary notions. Contraries are gradable antonyms,they are polar members of a gradual opposition which may have intermediate members. This may be observed in cold – hot and cool – warm which are intermediate members. Thus, we may regard as antonyms not only cold and hotbut also cold and warm. Contrary antonyms may also be considered in terms of degrees of the quality involved. Thus, water may be cold or very cold, and water in one glass may be colder than in another glass.