Hi there! Today we are going to spend some light on GRE Antonyms – seemingly one of the most puzzling and baffling section on the GRE. The good news is that for those who are planning to appear for their GRE on or after August 1, 2011, there would be NO Antonym section in the revised GRE (Antonyms and analogies have been removed from the test, so there are no more questions that test vocabulary out of context), but for those who are testing before Aug 2011, Antonym is still a reality.

Truly speaking, GRE Antonyms section is not that hard as you imagine it to be. Once in possession with some effective learning tools and strategies you will see yourself cracking this section effortlessly. An Antonym is the ‘opposite’ of the given word. In the GRE exam you are expected to read the word aloud in your mind and once you comprehend its meaning, look for a word from the five given answer options that is ‘nearly’ the opposite of the given word. For example if the given word is ‘Deny’, the option that is ‘nearly’ the opposite of the word will be ‘Acknowledge’. Hope this makes clear the above mentioned point.

According to the ETS, here are some approaches that may be helpful in answering antonym questions

• Remember that you are looking for the word that is the most nearly opposite to the given word; you are not looking for a synonym (meaning). Many words do not have a precise opposite, so you must look for the answer choice that expresses a concept most nearly opposite to that of the given word.
• In some cases, more than one of the answer choices may appear at first to be opposite to the given word. When this happens, try to define more precisely or in greater detail the meaning of the given word.
• In weighing answer choices, it is often useful to make up a sentence using the given word or words. Substitute the answer choices in the phrase or sentence and see which best fits. The best answer will be the one that reverses the meaning or tone of the sentence or phrase.
• Remember that a particular word may have more than one meaning.
• Use your knowledge of root, prefix, and suffix meanings to help you determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Make Use of Some Cool Antonyms Practice Tests here on Skill-Guru.