To present the notion of gradable antonyms, teachers may use a cline showing which of the following?

• A. The origin of words
• B. Range of meaning between hot and cold
• C. Difference in degree of comparison
• D. Similarities between synonyms

Answer: (B)

Gradable antonyms sit on a single spectrum, so a cline is the perfect visual to show how meaning can vary along a continuum. Temperature is a clear example: between hot and cold there are terms like warm, tepid, cool, and chilly. This helps learners see that adjectives describing temperature aren’t just two opposite points but a range of degrees, and we can modify them with intensifiers—very hot, somewhat cool—to express different positions on that scale. The idea is to highlight the gradual nature of the attribute, not just a binary opposition. The origin of words, or merely noting differences in degree of comparison, doesn’t capture this sense of a continuum, and focusing on similarities between synonyms wouldn’t illustrate how opposite ends relate on the scale.