Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Looking Up Antonyms.

Looking Up Antonyms

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 16, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

One of the tools that Word provides is a full thesaurus. You can use this tool to find alternate words with the same meaning (synonyms), words with the opposite meaning (antonyms), or related words. Antonyms are not available for all words, but when they are available, you can easily select them. To find an antonym, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point in the word you wish to check.
Press Shift+F7. Word displays the Research pane at the right side of your document.
If antonyms are available for the word, you will see the phrase "(Antonym)" after the word. (There may be more than one antonym shown for the word you selected.)
Position the mouse pointer over the antonym in which you are interested. Word displays a drop-down arrow at the right side of the word.
Click the drop-down arrow and then click on Insert. Word replaces the word you specified in step 1 with the antonym you pointed at in step 4.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11942) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Looking Up Antonyms.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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