Most appropriate word for 'antonym' – 対義語 or 反対語?


I just created an [antonyms](/questions/tagged/antonyms "show questions tagged
'antonyms'") tag on our site. We usually make tag names in English, and then
put the Japanese equivalent in the tag description, but I'm not sure which
Japanese word to use.

[Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AF%BE%E7%BE%A9%E8%AA%9E) lists
all sorts of words for 'antonym':

> 対義語  
>  アントニム  
>  反義語  
>  反意語  
>  反義詞  
>  反対語  
>  対語

The two most common words on this list are 対義語 and 反対語, so I think one of
those two would work best. Both seem to have the same meaning, and both seem
to be equally common.

Is there any difference between the two that would make one or the other more
appropriate in this case? Or would both be equally appropriate?




対義語 and 反対語 both work, but I personally think 対義語 is better.

反対語 is the word I heard mainly at elementary school. It's probably because
every kid knows what 反対 means, but 対義語 is too difficult for them.

It's perfectly fine to use 反対語 in daily conversations, but after I became an
adult, I see 対義語 more often in serious articles. Wikipedia also uses 対義語 as
the title of the article.

>   *
> 反対語というのは対義語とほぼ同じ意味に使われますが、どちらかと云えば日常的な用語です。([source](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1383411253))
>   *
> 対義語の方が元にあったのですが字から意味がわかりにくいということから直感的に意味がわかりやすい反対語という言葉が生まれたようです。([source](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1347494453;_ylt=A2RirhzuV71WGBwAuEZzAPR7))
>   *
> 小学生に「対義語」といっても意味が分からないので小学生には「反対語」といっています。([source](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1347494453;_ylt=A2RirhzuV71WGBwAuEZzAPR7))
>




対義語 and 反対語 both work, but I personally think 対義語 is better.

反対語 is the word I heard mainly at elementary school. It's probably because
every kid knows what 反対 means, but 対義語 is too difficult for them.

It's perfectly fine to use 反対語 in daily conversations, but after I became an
adult, I see 対義語 more often in serious articles. Wikipedia also uses 対義語 as
the title of the article.

>   *
> 反対語というのは対義語とほぼ同じ意味に使われますが、どちらかと云えば日常的な用語です。([source](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1383411253))
>   *
> 対義語の方が元にあったのですが字から意味がわかりにくいということから直感的に意味がわかりやすい反対語という言葉が生まれたようです。([source](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1347494453;_ylt=A2RirhzuV71WGBwAuEZzAPR7))
>   *
> 小学生に「対義語」といっても意味が分からないので小学生には「反対語」といっています。([source](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1347494453;_ylt=A2RirhzuV71WGBwAuEZzAPR7))
>

