Intransitive and Transitive

Opposite meaning words

Intransitive adjective - Designating a verb that does not require or cannot take a direct object.

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Transitive is an antonym for intransitive.

Nearby Word: intransitively

Transitive adjective - Designating a verb that requires a direct object to complete the meaning.

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Intransitive is an antonym for transitive.

Andrew provides his own lampshade a little earlier in the scene when he complains that Klingon was easier to learn than Spanish because the former "had much clearer rules on transitive and intransitive verbs."

Source: Conveniently Precise Translation
In the present tense, "lay" is a transitive verb while "lie" is intransitive, therefore, one speaks of laying something down but of lying down.

Source: The Big List of Booboos and Blunders

Cite this Source

Transitive and Intransitive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/intransitive/transitive

Intransitive & Transitive. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/intransitive/transitive>.

Transitive or Intransitive. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/intransitive/transitive.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "intransitive" and "transitive" have occurred on timeline