Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Looking Up Antonyms.

Looking Up Antonyms

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 28, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

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 Thesaurus dialog box or the Research pane, depending on your version of Word.
If antonyms are available for the word, you will see the Antonyms choice. Click on Antonyms.
In the Replace with Antonym list, select an antonym for your word.
Click on Replace.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1275) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) 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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