Definition of "antonym"

(semantics) A word which has the opposite meaning of another word.

1. A word that describes one end of a scale, while its opposite describes the other end, such as large versus small; a gradable antonym.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • All four lines of the pattern are required to establish that hot and cold are antonyms. The water is hot entails The water is not cold. The water is cold entails The water is not hot.The water is not hot does not entail The water is cold. The water is not cold does not entail The water is hot.

     2005, Andrew John Merrison, Aileen Bloomer, Patrick Griffiths, Christopher J. Hall, Introducing Language in Use‎, page 111