Antonyms. Antonym types. Antonymy and polysemy. Stylistic functions of antonyms (antithesis, antiphrasis, amphithesis, asteism, oxymoron, etc.). Enantiosemy. Dictionaries of antonyms

Antonyms- Words with opposite meanings.

The ability of words to enter into opposite relationships is called antonymy.

Antonym types:

• Contradictory (gradual): such opposites that mutually complement each other to the whole, without transitional links; they are in relation to the privative opposition. Examples: bad - good, false - true, alive - dead.
• · Contrary (nongradual): antonyms expressing polar opposites within one essence in the presence of transitional links - internal gradation; they are in relation to the gradual opposition. Examples: black (- gray -) white, old (- elderly - middle-aged -) young, large (- medium -) small.
• · Converse (vector): antonyms expressing different directions of actions, signs, social phenomena, etc. Examples: enter - exit, descend - rise, light - extinguish, revolution - counter-revolution.

The words antonyms have a certain commonality of compatibility. This is a linguistic feature of antonymous words.

The close relationship of antonymy with polysemy emphasizes the systemic nature of the relations of lexical units, their interdependence and interdependence, while maintaining, however, each of the phenomena of its distinctive features.

Depending on the distinctive features possessed by words with opposite meanings, general language and occasional antonyms can be distinguished.

Language antonyms characterized near heck:

• 1) socially conscious systemic relations;
• 2) stable belonging to a certain lexico-grammatical paradigm;
• 3) the regularity of reproduction in the same syntagmatic conditions;
• 4) fixation in the vocabulary;
• 5) relatively stable stylistic affiliation and stylistic essence.

Occasional antonyms include, for example: fun - sadness, promotion - retraction, love - lack of love.

Main function antonyms- an expression of the opposite, which is inherent in their semantics and does not depend on the context.

The opposite function can be used for different stylistic purposes:

• 1. To indicate the limit of manifestation of quality, properties, relationships, actions;
• 2. To update the statement or enhance the image, impression, etc.;
• 3. To express an assessment of the opposite properties of objects, actions, etc.;
• 4. For the approval of two opposite properties, qualities, actions;
• 5. To approve one of the opposing signs, actions or phenomena of real life at the expense of denying the other;
• 6. To recognize some intermediate, intermediate quality, property, etc., possible or approved between two words opposite in meaning.

One of the stylistic figures, the antithesis ( Knowledge human elevates, a ignorance - humiliates). Another stylistic device, which is based on a comparison of antonymic meanings, is an oxymoron. It consists in a combination of words expressing logically incompatible concepts, sharply contradicting in meaning and mutually excluding each other ( Cold boiling water, alive dead body). Sometimes there is a deliberate use in the text of one antonym instead of another. This technique is often resorted to by modern journalists ("Bureau malicious services", "Olympic anxiety"). This technique is based on the use of a special stylistic figure known since ancient times - antiphrase, i.e. the use of a word or expression in the opposite sense.

enantiosemy- the presence of opposite meanings in the structure of the word. Examples: to lend money to someone - to borrow money from someone, to surround with tea - to treat and not to treat.

Dictionaries of antonyms.

For a long time there were no special dictionaries of antonyms of the Russian language. In 1971, two dictionaries of antonyms were published. In the "Dictionary of Antonyms of the Russian Language" L.A. Vvedenskaya explained 862 antonymic pairs. All interpretations are provided with numerous, very convincing examples from works that differ in style. The second edition of this dictionary was published in 1982. In the dictionary N.P. Kolesnikov included many terms that exist in pairs. In 1978, the "Dictionary of Antonyms of the Russian Language" by M.R. Lvov (under the editorship of L.A. Novikov). The dictionary contains almost 2 thousand antonymic pairs of words. The interpretation of their meanings is given through the citation of phrases with these words and examples in the texts.

In 1980, M. Lvov's School Dictionary of Antonyms of the Russian Language was published. The dictionary explains over 500 pairs of the most common antonyms.

One of the clear manifestations of systemic relations in vocabulary is the correlative opposition according to the most general and most significant semantic feature for their meaning. Such words are called lexical antonyms.

Correlative opposition is called because only words that are in the same lexical and grammatical paradigm, denoting logically compatible concepts, enter into such relations. Their comparison is based on the same common feature. So, semantically correlative are words that characterize various kinds of qualitative features, for example: beauty, color, taste (beautiful - ugly, light - dark, bitter - sweet); emotions (love - hate, fun - sadness); concepts of space, time (up - down, north - south, today - tomorrow); action and state (close - open).

Correlativity of the most general signs of opposition is often supplemented by private, specific, semantically no less significant signs.

Similar meanings are called opposite because, according to the laws of logic, they mutually exclude each other. For example, an object cannot be both deep and shallow, heavy and light at the same time. Between them in the language there are often lexical units that have a certain average semantically neutral meaning:

large - medium - small

large - medium - small.

The content of the concept of "antonym" has recently been significantly supplemented. So, until recently, only words containing an indication of quality in their meaning were considered antonyms. Modern researchers see antonymy in words belonging to the same part of speech, denoting various kinds of feelings, action, state, evaluation, spatial and temporal relationships, that is, a broader understanding of antonymy is becoming stronger.

Types of antonyms by structure.

According to their structure, antonyms are divided into 2 main groups: single-rooted and heterogeneous.

One-root antonyms arise as a result of word-formation processes, therefore they are also called lexical-grammatical (lexical-word-forming). They are formed by adding prefixes with the opposite meaning:

in- - from-; for- - from-; us-; above under- …

The word-building elements of an antonymic nature should include the first parts of compound words such as easy--heavy-, micro--macro-, mono--poly- ...

A special group is formed by words that have intra-semantic antonymy, or enanthosemia, which appears as a result of the ambiguity of the word. Enanthosemia is observed, for example, in the words: carry (here, to the house) - "bring" and carry (from here, from the house) - "take away"; make a reservation (intentionally) - "make a reservation" (on purpose) and make a reservation (accidentally) - "make a mistake", etc. one

Among the heterogeneous antonyms, modern researchers distinguish the so-called antonyms are conversions. These include words that express the relationship of opposites both in the original and in the modified statement, but not in the usual, direct order, but in reverse: Peter buys a house from Sergey - Sergey sells the house to Peter.

The semantics of opposites in both heteroroot and cognate antonyms can reveal concepts of a different degree, measure of the same quality, property:

expensive - cheap; deep - shallow; young - old.

The common, most essential feature of each group is the opposition of their meanings, which refer to the same series of objective reality.

Understanding the structural and semantic possibilities of antonymic oppositions allows the most correct and rational use of language antonyms in speech, to choose informatively the most significant of them. And this is an important characteristic feature of the creative use of the lexical richness of the Russian language.

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1 See: Bulakhovsky L.A. Introduction to linguistics. p.74; Vinogradov V.V. The main types of lexical meanings of the word. p.9; his own. On the processes of development and destruction of homonymy in the circle of correlative Russianisms and ancient Slavisms// Studia slavica. Budapest. 1969. Vol.12.

Antonyms are words that are different in sound and have opposite meanings: lie - truth, evil - good, silence - speak. Examples of antonyms show that they refer to the same part of speech.

Antonymy in Russian is presented much narrower than synonymy. This is due to the fact that only words that are correlated in terms of quality (good - bad, native - alien, smart - stupid, dense - rare, high - low), temporal (day - night, early - late), quantitative (single - multiple, many - few), spatial (spacious - cramped, large - small, wide - narrow, high - low) features.

There are antonymic pairs denoting the names of states, actions. Examples of antonyms of this kind: rejoice - grieve, cry - laugh.

Types and examples of antonyms in Russian

According to the structure, antonyms are divided into heterogeneous (morning - evening) and single-root (enter - exit). The opposite of the meaning of single-root antonyms is caused by prefixes. However, it should be remembered that the addition to adverbs and prefixes without-, not- in most cases, it gives them the value of a weakened opposite (high - low), so the contrast of their values ​​\u200b\u200bis turned out to be "muffled" (low - this does not mean "low"). Based on this, not all prefix formations can be attributed to antonyms, but only those that are the extreme points of the lexical paradigm: strong - powerless, harmful - harmless, successful - unsuccessful.

Antonyms, as well as synonyms, are in close connection with polysemy: empty - serious (conversation); empty - full (cup); empty - expressive (look); empty - meaningful (story). Examples of antonyms show that different meanings of the word "empty" are included in different antonymic pairs. Single-valued words, as well as words with specific meanings (iambic, pencil, desk, notebook, etc.) cannot have antonyms.

Among antonyms, the phenomenon of enantiosemy also exists - this is the development of mutually exclusive, opposite meanings of some polysemantic words: carry (into the room, bring) - carry (out of the room, take away); abandoned (a phrase just said) - abandoned (abandoned, forgotten). The meaning in such cases is specified in the context. Enantiosemy is often the cause of ambiguity in certain expressions. Examples of antonyms of this kind: he listened to the report; the director looked through these lines.

Contextual antonyms: examples and definition

Contextual antonyms are words that are opposed in a specific context: moonlight - sunlight; not a mother, but a daughter; one day - the whole life; wolves are sheep. The polarity of the meanings of such words in the language is not fixed, and their opposition is an individual decision of the author. The writer in such cases reveals the opposite qualities of various concepts and contrasts them in speech. However, these pairs of words are not antonyms.

In addition to synonyms and homonyms, polysemy is associated antonymy. Lexical antonyms(from the Greek Anti - against, Onyma - name) - these are words that are opposite in meaning. Antonymy is built on the opposition of correlative concepts: friend - enemy, bitter - sweet, easy - difficult, etc.

The antonymic series consists of words belonging to the same part of speech. Both significant parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.) and service parts (for example, prepositions: in - from, over - under, with - without, etc.) enter into antonymic relations. However, only those words in the lexical meaning of which there are the following shades of quality:
1) size, color, taste: large - small, white - black, heavy - light;
2) emotional state: love - hate;
3) emotional action: upset - rejoice.

Also, words that denote temporal and spatial relationships enter into antonymic connections:
yesterday - today, ahead - behind, there - here, east - west, north - south, etc.

Words with a concrete-objective meaning, used in a direct, and not in a figurative sense (camel, house, standing, etc.), are unable to have antonyms. They do not have antonyms proper names, numerals, most pronouns. By structure, antonyms are divided into two main groups:
1) One-root antonyms:
Luck is failure; Active - inactive; Come and go, etc.
2) Different root antonyms:
Poverty is a luxury; Active - passive; Blame - defend; Today - tomorrow, etc.

Antonymy is closely related to polysemy and synonymy. A polysemantic word can be included in different antonymic series:

In modern Russian, there are contextual antonyms, which act in antonymous relations only in a certain context. Antonyms of this type may have different grammatical forms, belonging to the same part of speech, or refer to different parts of speech, while differing stylistically. These stylistic differences are not reflected in dictionaries, for example:
... I am stupid, and you are smart, alive, and I am dumbfounded (M. Tsvetaeva)
Antonymy underlies oxymoron- combinations of words (most often an adjective and a noun) that are opposite in meaning, for example:
The fresh air smelled of the bitter sweetness of an autumn morning (I. Bunin) And I didn’t go crazy, but you turn out to be a smart fool (M. Sholokhov)

The functional use and expressive possibilities of antonyms are varied. Antonyms are most often used in the text in pairs, expressing a wide variety of shades of meaning and meaning - comparison, opposition, etc. For example:
Words can cry and laugh
Order, pray and conjure (B. Pasternak)

For the same purposes, antonyms are used in many proverbs and sayings of Russian folklore: Where is the smart sorrow, the fool is fun; A good rope is long, and speech is short; Do not run away from the good, but do not do the bad. Antithesis (that is, contextual opposition) is created not only with the help of synonyms, but also with the help of antonyms. For example, antonyms are used in the titles of literary works, indicating that the structural basis of the work is opposition - antithesis in the broad sense of the word, woven into the fabric of the narrative:
The epic novel "War and Peace" by L. N. Tolstoy;
The novel "The Living and the Dead" by K. M. Simonov;
The story "Days and Nights" by K. M. Simonov.

Antonymy is usually characterized as a lexical phenomenon. In some works, all antonymy is reduced to lexical antonyms. So, in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary it is noted that antonyms are only for words that contain an indication of quality in their meaning, and are words of necessarily different roots: quiet - noisy, pleasant - disgusting, therefore noisy - silent, pleasant - unpleasant - not antonyms. “Some linguists,” wrote L. Novikov, “consider as antonyms words with different roots with opposite meanings. However, such a definition is too rigid and does not take into account all the possibilities of expressing the opposite in the language. (42, p. 83) L.A. Bulakhovsky also considers only words with different roots as antonyms. A.A. Reformatsky, although he recognizes root antonyms, he believes that "lexicology is more interested in heterogeneous antonyms." (46, p. 95) N.M. Shansky is inclined to consider as antonyms both single-rooted and heterogeneous words. L.A. Novikov writes: "... linguistic practice itself contradicts the narrow understanding of antonymy, according to which it is considered as a property of only high-quality or only heterogeneous words." (42, p. 4).

The same point of view is shared by D.N. Shmelev, V.F. Ivanova, V.A. Ivanov and a number of other scientists. Revealing common, essential features in the semantics of words expressing opposite meanings, they note three main varieties of opposites: contrarian, complementary, vector.

The most characteristic and common is the opposite opposite. It is characterized by the fact that between its extreme members there is an intermediate, middle member, for example: beauty - (charm, charm), - not beauty, love - (attachment, devotion) - dislike. Contrary opposition "underlies the antonymy of words containing an indication of quality." (42, p. 260). This kind of opposition shows a gradualness in the expression of a generic feature.

Members of complementarity (or complementarity, eng. Complementarity) are limiting, there is no intermediate member between them: pleasure - displeasure, compliance - inconsistency, trust - distrust, prudence - imprudence.

The vector opposite is based on the semantics of antonyms expressing the multidirectionality of actions, movements, signs: meet - diverge, sunrise - sunset, start - finish (42, p. 245-246). However, despite all the variety of manifestations of the opposite, in e? the basis is a single type of relationship - the relationship of the ultimate negation of what is expressed by one of the antonyms. For example, good - bad, i.e. extremely bad.

T.N. Erina notes: "The meaning of words that enter into antonymous relations are opposed only by one essential feature: positive or negative." (21, p. 94) For example:

• a) disposition - non-disposition are opposed to each other, on the basis of a benevolent / unfriendly attitude towards someone, something;
• b) hunting - reluctance - on the basis of desire / unwillingness to do something.

An obligatory feature of antonyms is regular reproducibility in speech.

M. Fomina notes: “The opposition is called correlative because only words that are in the same lexical and grammatical (on the basis of referring to the same part of speech) paradigm, denoting logically compatible concepts, enter into such relations. Their comparison is based on the same common and essential feature for them. (51, p. 139) So, semantically (and, of course, logically) correlative are words that characterize various kinds of qualitative features, for example: beauty, color, taste, etc. The obligatory feature of the logical-semantic correlation of concepts in determining the antonymy of words that name these concepts were first clearly formulated by N.M. Shansky. However, L. Bulakhovsky also pointed out the simultaneous presence of similarities in some respect in such words.

The correlation of the most general features of opposition is often supplemented by private, specific, semantically no less significant features. This is observed when antonymizing polysemantic words that differ in the specifics of syntagmatic relations. For example, the opposition of the words heavy (package) and light (package) is based on the essential sign of weight; in combination with the words man, animal, head, hand, etc. (heavy hand - light hand) a sign of physical properties is essential; the antonymy of the combinations heavy (bulky) roof - light (non-bulky) roof is based on the sign of proportionality, etc.

Scientists notice that in the case when incongruent concepts enter into contrasting relations, the words naming them are not antonyms. So, in the sentence: Before us was a low but long fence, the highlighted words are not antonyms, since the concepts of "height" and "length" characterize the object from different sides, semantically not correlated with each other. In this case, we are dealing with a logical opposition (which creates the so-called antonymic situation), and not a proper lexical antonymy.

Such relations are called opposite because, according to the laws of logic, they mutually exclude each other. For example, an object cannot be both deep and shallow, heavy and light, etc. at the same time; words with opposite meanings are at the extreme points of the lexical paradigm. Between them in the language there are often lexical units that have a certain average, semantically neutral meaning.

The antonymy of words does not depend on their grammatical form, formative components. Consequently, antonymy between words with different roots arises due to the opposite meanings of their main semantic components, for example: good - bad, warm - cold, etc.

“Antonymity is also preserved in word-building chains, the members of which are formed according to the same models,” writes E. Miller. (39, p. 88) So, antonyms are not only adjectives warm - cold, but also heterogeneous words related to other parts of speech - nouns warm - cold, adverbs warm - cold. Such oppositions are steadily manifested in speech. As the researcher notes, if words of one part of speech are opposed, then this antonymy is called one-part antonymy. “It is a typical, most common means of expressing opposite phenomena, processes, objects of objective reality in the language,” writes E. Miller. (39, p. 88).

At the same time, each of the first components of the oppositions warm - cold, warm (adv.) - cold, warm (n.) - cold is antonymous to all the second components of these oppositions, because these components are opposite in the lexical meaning of the roots, i.e. the adjective warm is antonymous not only to the adjective cold, but also to the noun cold; etc.

Interpartial antonymy is also systematically used in speech. For example: it was warm, although in August the nights usually exuded cold.

Or: a bare idea is not viable. She must appear dressed in words. Here, antonymous to the adjective naked, the noun with the preposition in clothes denotes not an object, but a sign of an object - like the adjective dressed.

Finally, “mixed” oppositions of antonyms are also possible, i.e. cases when the word - antonym opposes both the word of the same part of speech and the word belonging to another part of speech. For example: the room was warm... He felt a blissful feeling of warmth. It was cold in the car. It was cold on Ladoga. It was cold in the shops. And only now did Zvyagintsev feel that he was warming up.

E. Miller classifies some types of interpartial antonyms:

• 1. verb - noun;
• 2. verb - adjective;
• 3. noun - adjective.

“The distinguished types of oppositions in interparticular antonymy give reason to assume that any parts of speech can be antonymous if the words are formed from roots that are opposite in meaning,” writes E. Miller. (39, p. 89) Therefore, an adjective can be antonymous to an adverb, an adverb to a verb, an adverb to a noun, etc.

This phenomenon was also noted by L. Bulakhovsky. The results of the analysis of antonymic oppositions formed by derivation testify in favor of the existence of interpartial antonymy not only in speech, but also in the language system. “Different root antonyms are connected by a double connection: by semantic relations in opposites (connections between antonyms) and formally - semantic relations with their series of derivatives (word-forming connections). If we arrange two word-building paradigms according to their antonymic relations, then it turns out that horizontal connections are semantic connections in opposition, vertical connections - formally - the semantic dependence of word-building connections.

Word-formation and opposition links are disconnected here, they go in different directions. (10, p. 118)

Of course, interparticular antonymy is not meant here, but word-formation types of lexical units are established within the limits of antonymic nests, and thus the basis is objectively prepared for identifying and substantiating the reality of interparticular antonymy.

Regarding antonyms, there are more or less stable classifications accepted by most scientists. According to the structure, M. Fomina distinguishes the following types of antonyms: multi-rooted, single-rooted. The researcher calls those with different roots actually lexical. Single-root are also called grammatical or lexico-grammatical. In single-root antonyms, the opposite meaning is due to the addition of semantically different prefixes, which, like words, can enter into antonymic relations. In this case, we are talking about word-building antonyms. They were considered in more detail by A.N. Tikhonov, S.M. Saidov. Scientists note: “Derivational antonyms are antonyms that have arisen as a result of derivation. They are the product of word formation. (49, p. 69) Derivational antonyms are formed with the help of derivational means - suffixes, prefixes, the use of antonymous components in compound words. The researchers identified the following formations:

J. Prefix formations:

• 1. nouns;
• b) the prefix word is opposed to the prefix
• 2. adjectives:
  • a) a non-prefixed word is opposed to a prefixed one
  • b) one prefix is ​​opposed to another. In this case, the antonymic meaning is expressed by correlative prefixes
• 3. adverbs: married - unmarried, a lot - a little, a little - a lot, etc .;

YY. Prefix - suffix formations:

• 1. non-derivative noun - a derivative prefix-suffix noun: faith - unbelief, action - inaction, strength - impotence, poison - antidote, taste - bad taste, true story - fiction, etc .;
• 2. suffix adjective - prefix-suffix formation: mustachioed - beardless, horned - hornless, strong-willed - weak-willed, happy - unhappy, well-born - rootless, etc.

Scientists also note: “In word-forming antonymy, reflected antonymy prevails, i.e. derivative words that in themselves do not express antonymic relations and are antonyms because their generators have antonymic meanings. These derived words borrow antonymic meanings from their derivatives, as if reflecting them in their semantic structure. (49, p. 70)

As M. Fomina notes, “Both heteroroot and root antonymic paradigms are represented in the language by words of the most important parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs). Among the former, the antonymy of adjectives is more often observed, then nouns and verbs. (51, p. 141)

One-root antonyms are found among all lexical and grammatical categories of words. Verbal antonyms are especially active in the language, since this part of speech is distinguished by the richness of prefix formations. For example, dozens of antonyms - verbs are formed with the help of prefixes in- (in-) you-, for- and from-, under- and over-, etc.

Among single-root antonyms, two more groups are distinguished: antonyms - enantiosemes and antonyms - euphemisms. Among evantiosemes (gr. enantios - opposite + sema - sign), the meaning of the opposite is expressed by the same word. Such antonymy is called intra-word. The semantic possibilities of this antonym are realized with the help of context (lexically) or special constructions (syntactically). Enantiosemy is observed, for example, in the words: carry (here, to the house) - “bring” and carry (from here, from the house) - “take away”; make a reservation (intentionally) - “make a reservation” (on purpose) and make a reservation (accidentally) - “make a mistake”, etc.

It should be noted that the development of opposite meanings in the semantic structure of the same word has long been of interest to researchers. So, back in 1883-1884. IN AND. Scherzel published the work "On words with opposite meanings (or on the so-called evantiosemy)". In 1954, L. Bulakhovsky noted that "meanings can change in the language to their direct opposite."

In 1960 V. Vinogradov pointed to cases of the formation of "peculiar homonyms" in the language.

R. Budagov and L. Novikov consider this phenomenon as a kind of antonymy, although in the work of the latter there is a remark that for the modern language the phenomenon of enantiosemy is unproductive and that often intra-word splitting of meaning leads to the emergence of homonyms. N.M. Shansky considers words containing two opposite meanings as one of the varieties of homonyms.

Antonyms - euphemisms - words that express the semantics of the opposite in a restrained, gentle way. They, as a rule, are formed using the prefix non-: beautiful - ugly, kind - unkind, etc.

Among the heterogeneous antonyms, modern researchers distinguish the so-called antonyms - conversives. These include words that express the relation of opposites both in the original and in the modified statement, but not in the usual, direct order, but in the reverse order:

Peter buys a house from Semyon. - Semyon sells the house to Peter.

The semantics of opposition in both heterogeneous and single-root antonyms can reveal the concept of a different degree, measure of the same quality, properties: expensive - cheap, deep - shallow, young - old, where a possible degree, gradation (or gradation) of opposition is logically assumed : young > youthful > middle-aged > elderly > old. Many antonymic pairs do not indicate the degree of quality, i.e. devoid of a sign of gradation. So, it is impossible to imagine the semantic gradation of such antonyms as grandma-grandfather, brother-sister, day-night, west-east, father-mother, etc.

Note, by the way, that it is precisely the words in the semantics of which there is an assumed, possible degree of quality or property, etc., that are often used in euphemistic expressions; cf .: young - old and young - elderly or young - middle-aged. In the first case, the antonym-euphemism elderly is somewhat more restrained in terms of the degree of quality expressed by the word old. In the second, the euphemism is created by adding the prefix not.

Thus, understanding the structural and semantic possibilities of antonymic oppositions allows the most correct and rational use of linguistic antonyms in speech, to select informatively the most significant of them. And this is an important characteristic feature of the creative use of the lexical richness of the Russian language.

Thus, antonymy is usually characterized as a lexical phenomenon; antonyms are both single-rooted and heterogeneous words; antonymy of words does not depend on their grammatical form, formative components; interpartial antonymy is also systematically used in speech; according to the structure, antonyms of different root and single root are distinguished; among single-root antonyms, antonyms are distinguished - enantiosemes and antonyms - euphemisms; among heterogeneous antonyms, modern researchers distinguish the so-called antonyms - conversives.

Opposite word relationships allow the speaker to use lexical antonymy to express opposition. This is a typical function for antonyms. In this function, antonyms act as part of such a rhetorical figure as an antithesis: Small things grow from order, and even big things get upset from disorder (proverb).

The antithesis has a special effect on the imagination of the listeners, evokes vivid ideas about the named objects and events, feelings and emotions. But the functions of antonyms are not limited to the function of opposition. Antonyms can also express other types of relations that do not have the semantics of opposition. For example, L.A. Novikov writes that opposites can in the text “not only be opposed, as is sometimes thought, but also add up, connect, and also be compared, divided, alternate, compared, complement each other, etc.” (43, p. 126). The semantic relations that arise in antonymic pairs are indeed diverse. The relationship of the union of opposites within one entity is emphasized in proverbs. For example: Every ascent has its descent. Folk wisdom speaks of the dialectic of life, of the parallel existence of mutually exclusive and at the same time interdependent features (objects, phenomena). In works of art, the relationship of uniting antonyms can be demonstrated by the following example: The old man spoke about love, about forgiveness, about the duty of everyone to comfort a friend and foe "in the name of Christ." The homogeneity of the words friend and foe “removes” the opposite semantics of these words. There is a connection of the meanings of antonyms, and the whole expression friend and foe acquires the meaning of "each", which is emphasized by the singular form of antonyms. Relationships of comparison of features expressed by antonymous words help to show how great the difference between commensurate objects is. They were usually kept in a large stone shed with small windows built just under the roof. The antonyms large - small demonstrate a striking contrast between the shed and the windows in it. The relationship of excluding the possibility of doing something later, if it is not started earlier, is emphasized by antonyms that define the time frame, in the morning - in the evening.

When antonyms express the alternation of actions (fall - get up, flash - go out), the semantics of a sharp, quick, even instantaneous change in the described reality is formed in speech. For example: Lights flickered far ahead of him. Extinguishing and flashing, they moved in the same direction. The masterful use of antonyms creates a lively, moving picture of twinkling lights.

Comparison relations can be realized in an antonymic pair, for example: It is easier to lose a friend than to find one. Comparison relationships are indicated by comparative turnover.

Often antonyms enter into complementary relationships, for example: There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped, and Whoever did not see grief did not know happiness - the existence of one (happiness) depends on the presence of the opposite in meaning (unhappiness, grief).

So, the semantic potential of antonyms in speech is diverse, which allows using words with opposite meanings in different stylistic functions, in various rhetorical devices.

antonym oxymoron antithesis lermontov