Antonyms: Verbs - HSPT Language Skills

"Athletic," "frisky," and "limber" are synonyms of agile. "Agile" means to be quick and well coordinated in movement.

"Lethargic" means to be drowsy or slugglish.

"Inert," "lethargic," and "lackadaisical" are synonyms of indolent. "Indolent" means slow or lazy, while "energetic" means full of energy.

"Nimble," "agile," and "limber" are synonyms of lithe. "Lithe" means moving or bending with ease, while "clumsy" means awkward in movement or action.

Something that is erratic has no pattern and happens at unknown intervals. The word is related to the word “err” and “error,” as these words all come from a Latin base that means “to stray.” When we make an “error,” we “stray from the right path.” Something “erratic” strays from any pattern—which would be like a straight line. In contrast to something “erratic,” “steady” is an excellent antonym.

Something that is "evolving" is changing or adapting over time. The word literally means to unroll or roll out. The “-volve” portion is the same as that which his found in “revolve” and the “e-” prefix means out. In contrast to something that is evolving, something "static" merely “stands still”; that is, it does not change. The word comes from the Latin for to stand. The “static” on a television screen is a single pattern that doesn’t seem to change (since it has no discernable pattern).

To fasten something is to latch or attach it to something else. When you fasten a chest-strap on a book bag, you latch together two clips, joining them together at one connection point. The opposite of such an action of fastening is “unlatching,” which quite obviously means “to remove a latch or undo a latching.”

To "seize" something is to grasp on to it, often suddenly and with force. A number of the options provided as potential answers are potential synonyms. The only antonym among them is “release.”

When someone is in haste, that person acts in a very speedy manner, often in an over-hurried manner. To “make haste” is to act rapidly to accomplish something. “To delay” is the opposite of making haste. While someone who is slothful or slacking might be less likely to make haste, the only direct antonym among the possible answers is “delay.”

When something lingers, it remains in a given area, as when a smell lingers in the kitchen after cooking or a guest lingers for some time after dinner, talking about many things and not leaving the house; therefore, in a very broad sense, you could say that “to linger” means “to stay.” The best contrast with this among the options provided is “depart,” meaning “to leave.”

The word “quiescent” is related to “quiet,” which is itself related to the Latin for “to rest or be at peace.” Something “quiescent” is at rest in the sense of not being active. For instance, a “quiescent volcano” is a volcano currently dormant or in a state of inactivity. In contrast to such inactivity, “lively” is an appropriate antonym.

A torrent is a very forceful movement of water. When something flows “torrentially,” it does so with great speed and quantity. In contrast to this, a trickle is a small flow of water—an apt antonym. The options “river” and “flow” mean to trap you by mere association with water. The options “illegal” and “licit” likewise are traps since the word “torrent” is associated with a type of computer file sharing method that is sometimes used in a legally questionable manner.

For this word, following your hunch likely will help if you do not know the vocabulary. The primary sense of the word “variegated” is “multicolored,” particularly meaning that those colors are arranged in an irregular pattern. This is often used to describe certain types of multicolored leaves. If you saw the word “varied” in the word “variegated,” you would potentially be able to answer this without having direct knowledge of “variegated.” Only “monotonous” is sufficiently opposed to the notion of variety for our needs. Something monotonous has a single character—a single tone (color, sound, etc). It can describe a voice that does not change its pitch as well as a picture that has a single color.

When something is “dormant” it could be said to be “sleeping.” A closer meaning to the standard English usage of the word would be “inactive.” It does have a relation, however, to the notion of sleeping, as could be inferred by its relationship to the word “dormitory,” which means “sleeping room” or “building for sleeping.” In contrast with inactivity or “dormancy,” only “active” functions as an adequate antonym.

The word "transfer" literally means to carry across (as in carrying across a border). When someone transfers goods or money, he or she sends them to someone else (or to another place). In contrast to such conveyance, we could consider an antonym to be "to hold on to." The word "retain" means just this, namely to keep something in someone's own possession (instead of giving it).

When someone is said to "subsist" on something, he or she barely survives—only well enough to keep together his or her physical being. This comes from the old philosophical notion of subsistence, which indicates the basic existence of a being—though not necessarily implying any great flourishing. In contrast to this, "burgeoning" growth is great, fruitful growth. When something or someone is burgeoning, that thing is greatly flourishing. This is a good contrast to merely "subsisting."

When two people dispute something, they do not agree on the topic. If we isolate one of those people, he or she might say, "I dispute your claim that (e.g.) the Middle Ages are underappreciated." This means that the person does not believe the claim about the importance of the Middle Ages. In general, dispute can mean either to argue about or (as we now see) to question the truth or validity of an assertion. In contrast to such doubt or questioning, one could accept or recognize a fact as being true.

None of the options provided here are great antonyms, but we can definitely remove bad candidates and find an answer that is good enough for our purposes. The word "ponder" means to think about deeply. To "scrutinize" something is to pay attention to its details, and to "observe" and "consider" are both options that at least note consideration of an object. Of course, observation and consideration are rather uninvolved in contrast to pondering. In another question, they might be options for correct answers. However, we have the option "disregard." This is more opposed to pondering than "observe" and "consider." Since "remark" is really not useful at all for our purposes, the answer must be "disregard."

The word "illuminate" is most often associated with its literal, physical notion—the phenomenon of light that illuminates a given surface. However, there are no words here that are directly related to such physical light. The word "illuminate" can be used to describe intellectual endeavors, when one thing "sheds light" on another—that is, makes the other thing clearer. In contrast to such illumination, there is the phenomenon of an overly complicated argument. When someone complicates a matter, he or she makes it less clear.

A set of "recollections" is a group of memories that have been gathered together. (Yes, the word is a bit like saying "re+collecting" as in "collecting together again.") When we recollect something, we attempt to bring back and report such a memory. If we do not call back such a thought, we then would omit it from such recollection. "Reminisce" and even "commemorate" are both rather synonymous, while "disabuse" and "retain" are neither synonyms nor antonyms for our purposes. Therefore, "omit" is the best option among those provided for an antonym.

When someone recants something, he or she "gives back" something that he or she held to be true. Generally, it is a question of recanting an opinion or a statement. For instance, we might say, "Thomas refused to recant his belief in Aristotle's writings, for he believed the Greek thinker to have spoken the truth." Thomas refuses to say that he no longer believes in the truthfulness of Aristotle. In contrast to such recanting, one can "assume" something by taking it up. Often this has the sense of "assuming an identity" or "assuming an uncertain fact to be true." The general point is that "assuming" means to take up as opposed to "recanting" which means something like to let go or give up.