Opposite adjectives
Learning a foreign language is great! It can also be fun, rewarding, and exciting.
Some other times you might think it’s exhausting, challenging, and overwhelming.
The words used above are adjectives. We use them to describe a person, a thing, an idea, a place, an animal, etc.
Just think of the words happy and unhappy or believable and unbelievable.
If you try to think of other adjectives in English that behave like this, you’ll probably find lots.
Let’s get started!
How to form opposite adjectives
The opposite adjectives are formed using prefixes. Here’s a list of the most common ones in Italian:
- in-
- dis-
- s-
- a-
And here are the most used groups of opposite adjectives where the negative meaning comes from the prefixes mentioned above.
Ideally, you should take notes about the new adjectives, write them down, and practice, repeat, and review them. This will help you memorize and remember them.
Adjectives starting with in-
The prefix in- is the most common one.
capace/incapace
capable/incapable
certo/incerto
certain/uncertain
credibile/incredibile
credible/incredible
felice/infelice
happy/unhappy
utile/inutile
useful/useless
The “n” in in- becomes an m when the adjectives start with a “p” or an “m”. This means the prefix becomes im-.
mobile/immobile
mobile/immobile
morale/immorale
moral/immoral
possibile/impossibile
possible/impossible
preparato/impreparato
prepared/unprepared
Adjectives starting with dis-
abitato/disabitato
inhabited/uninhabited
attento/disattento
attentive/inattentive
onesto/disonesto
honest/dishonest
informato/disinformato
informed/uninformed
ordinato/disordinato
tidy/untidy
Adjectives starting with s-
The prefix s- is not very common but here are some examples:
carico/scarico
charged/out of battery or power
cortese/scortese
kind/unkind
gradevole/sgradevole
pleasant/unpleasant
contento/scontento
pleased/displeased
Adjectives starting with a-
The prefix a- is the least common, so we’ll just give you three groups of adjectives:
normale/anormale
normal/abnormal
sociale/asocial
sociable/unsociable
tipico/atipico
typical/atypical
Practice with Quizlet
Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.Opposite adjectives: examples
Since we’ve already given you many new words, we’ll just give you a few more examples.
Questo posto è incredibile!
This place is incredible!
Mi sento un po’ inutile perché non sto facendo niente.
I feel a bit useless because I’m not doing anything.
Mattia è davvero disordinato ed è pure disonesto.
Mattia is really untidy and he’s even dishonest.
Il mio cellulare è scarico.
My mobile phone is out of battery.
Quella persona è un po’ sgradevole.
That person is unpleasant.
Mia sorella è un po’ asociale.
My sister is a bit unsociable.
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2 Responses
In Opposite adjectives: Italian grammar lesson 68, the quizlet requests the answer to the flashcard be in SPANISH! (not Italian!) When i type, the answer is correct tho. Just FYI
Ciao Denni!
You’re right: this Quizlet is in Spanish for some reason.
We will take care of it and here you can find a Quizlet in English about the same topic.