Glossary:Comparative Antonymy

Comparative antonymy

Pronounciation

/kəmˈpærətɪv ˈæntənɪmi/

General definition

Comparative antonymy is one of the many residual sorts of antonyms. Its main function is to enforce a comparison between two words, to measure one antonym against another. As this sort of antonymy does not occur very often, it is grouped under residual antonyms.

General pattern

more X than Y

Example

Sometimes, I feel more masculine than feminine.

References

• Jones, Stephen; Murphy, M. Lynne (2005). Using corpora to investigate antonym acquisition. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics 10:3. John Benjamin Publishing Company.
• Murphy, M. Lynne; Jones, Stephen (2008 November). Antonyms in children's and child-directed speech. First language 28 (4[87]).

Linked Pages

• Ancillary Antonymy
• Coordinated Antonymy
• Residual Antonyms