Lesson One

ELAR Level Five, Unit Ten: Synonyms and Antonyms

LESSON ONE

In this Unit you will be learning about synonyms and antonyms. Synonyms are words that have the same, or nearly the same, meaning. Antonyms are words which have opposite meanings. Once you understand synonyms and antonyms, you will be a better reader and writer! Sometimes writers use the same group of words repeatedly in their writing. It is natural to prefer some words to others when they are so familiar. However, this practice limits your writing and can make it boring and repetitive to the reader. In order to improve your writing, you need to use a wide variety of words which will expand the quality of your writing and will also improve the vocabulary of both you and the reader. Lesson One will teach you about synonyms.


Examples of synonyms are the words bloom and blossom. They both describe what flowers do in the spring. For example, instead of writing, “The rose bush will bloom in the spring,” you could write, “The rose bush will blossom in the spring.”

The flowers will bloom in the spring.

The flowers will blossom in the spring.

Both sentences mean the same thing. The underlined words are synonyms because the two words have the same meaning.

Here is a list of words that are familiar to you. They are grouped in pairs because they have similar meanings. Each pair is a set of synonyms.

Now look for those synonyms in the paragraph below. Synonyms will often appear near each other in a story.

Anthony was not sure if he could do it. At first he was certain he could climb the wall, but now he was not so confident. He had boasted to all of his friends that he could climb the wall, but that was before he hurt his leg. Since he had bragged about his rock-climbing ability, he knew he had to prove he was skilled. Slowly he started to climb the wall. His leg was starting to throb a little, but he continued to ascend to the top. He felt as if he had just started climbing when he noticed he had only a few feet left! At last he reached the top and observed his friends below. They were all cheering for him. Anthony’s leg was sore, but he had made it to the top.

Anthony's leg was sore, but he had made it to the top.