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{{short description|Word that has two opposing meanings}} | {{short description|Word that has two opposing meanings}} | ||
{{redirect|Enantiodrome|the Jungian principle of equilibrium|Enantiodromia}} | {{redirect|Enantiodrome|the Jungian principle of equilibrium|Enantiodromia}} | ||
A '''contronym''' or '''contranym''' is a word with two [[Opposite (semantics)|opposite | A '''contronym''' or '''contranym''' is a word with two [[Opposite (semantics)|opposite meanings]]. For example, the word ''cleave'' can mean "to cling" or "to split apart". This feature is also called '''enantiosemy''',<ref>{{cite book |pages=11,77 |title=[[Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew]] |first=Ghil'ad |last=Zuckermann |author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2003}}, where "enantiosemy" is mentioned along with "auto-opposite",</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.oup.com/2013/09/simpleton-capsize-kibosh-hobo-bragi-sanction-coleslaw/|title=Etymology gleanings for September 2013|last=Liberman|first=Anatoly|date=25 September 2013|work=Oxford Etymologist|publisher=Oxford University Press|quote=The coexistence of two opposite meanings in a word is called enantiosemy, and the examples are rather numerous.|access-date=25 September 2013}}</ref> '''enantionymy''' (''[[wikt:enantio-#Prefix|enantio-]]'' means "opposite"), '''antilogy''' or '''autoantonymy'''. An enantiosemic term is by definition [[polysemy|polysemic]] (having more than one meaning). | ||
== Nomenclature == | == Nomenclature == | ||
A contronym is alternatively called an ''autantonym'', ''auto-antonym'', ''antagonym'',<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster| contronym |accessdate=2024-07-22}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Nym Words > Autoantonyms|url=http://www.fun-with-words.com/nym_autoantonyms.html|access-date=2016-09-22|website=www.fun-with-words.com}}</ref> ''enantiodrome'', ''enantionym'', ''Janus word'' (after the Roman god [[Janus]], who is usually depicted with two faces),<ref name=":2"/> ''self-antonym'', ''antilogy'', or '' | A contronym is alternatively called an ''autantonym'', ''auto-antonym'', ''antagonym'',<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster| contronym |accessdate=2024-07-22}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Nym Words > Autoantonyms|url=http://www.fun-with-words.com/nym_autoantonyms.html|access-date=2016-09-22|website=www.fun-with-words.com}}</ref> ''enantiodrome'', ''enantionym'', ''Janus word'' (after the Roman god [[Janus]], who is usually depicted with two faces),<ref name=":2"/> ''self-antonym'', ''antilogy'', or ''aḍdād'' (Arabic, singular ''ḍidd'').<ref>{{cite web |last=al-Khamash |first=Salim Soliman |date=1991 |title=''Aḍdād'' : a study of homo-polysemous opposites in Arabic |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/b69b882abc847372f6d48ea643568741/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |access-date=27 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gall|first=Nick|title=Antagonyms|url=http://ironick.typepad.com/ironick/2003/11/antagonyms.html|access-date=2 August 2011}}</ref> | ||
== Linguistic mechanisms == | == Linguistic mechanisms == | ||
[[Denotation]]s and [[connotation]]s of words can drift or branch over centuries. An [[apocrypha]]l story relates how [[Charles II of Great Britain|Charles II]] (or sometimes [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]]) described [[St Paul's Cathedral]] (using contemporaneous English) as "{{lang|en-emodeng|amusing, awful, and artificial}}", with the meaning (rendered in modern English) of "amazing, awe-inspiring, and artistic."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/10/31/st-pauls-cathedral/|title=St Paul's Cathedral Is Amusing, Awful, and Artificial|last=O’Toole|first=Garson|date=31 October 2012|work=Quote Investigator|access-date=22 January 2015}}</ref> | |||
== Examples == | == Examples == | ||
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=== English === | === English === | ||
{{Wiktionary category|category=English contranyms|type=contronyms in English}} | {{Wiktionary category|category=English contranyms|type=contronyms in English}} | ||
* ''Cleave'' can mean "to cling" or "to split apart".<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57032/25-words-are-their-own-opposites |title=25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites |website=mentalfloss.com |first=Judith |last=Herman |date=15 June 2018 |access-date=2022-09-10}}</ref> | * ''Cleave'' can mean "to cling" or "to split apart".<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57032/25-words-are-their-own-opposites |title=25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites |website=mentalfloss.com |first=Judith |last=Herman |date=15 June 2018 |access-date=2022-09-10}}</ref> | ||
* ''Clip'' can mean "attach" or "cut off".<ref name=":2" /> | * ''Clip'' can mean "attach" or "cut off".<ref name=":2" /> | ||
* ''Drop'' can mean "release or make available" (e.g., a music record) or "abandon or discontinue".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-21 |title=Definition of DROP |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drop |access-date=2025-10-27 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> | |||
* ''Dust'' can mean "to remove dust" (cleaning a house) or "to add dust" (e.g., to dust a cake with powdered sugar).<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":0" /> This contradiction features in the children's book ''[[Amelia Bedelia (book)|Amelia Bedelia]]''.<ref name="book">[https://lccn.loc.gov/63014367 "Amelia Bedelia"]. LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-02-18.</ref> | * ''Dust'' can mean "to remove dust" (cleaning a house) or "to add dust" (e.g., to dust a cake with powdered sugar).<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":0" /> This contradiction features in the children's book ''[[Amelia Bedelia (book)|Amelia Bedelia]]''.<ref name="book">[https://lccn.loc.gov/63014367 "Amelia Bedelia"]. LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-02-18.</ref> | ||
* ''Fast'' can mean "without moving; fixed in place", (holding fast, also as in "steadfast"), or "moving quickly".<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":0" /> | * ''Fast'' can mean "without moving; fixed in place", (holding fast, also as in "steadfast"), or "moving quickly".<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":0" /> | ||
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* ''Oversight'' can mean "accidental omission or error" or "close scrutiny or control".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title=Definition of OVERSIGHT |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oversight |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> | * ''Oversight'' can mean "accidental omission or error" or "close scrutiny or control".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title=Definition of OVERSIGHT |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oversight |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> | ||
* ''Peruse'' can mean to "consider with attention and in detail" or "look over or through in a casual or cursory manner".<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of PERUSE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peruse |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=28 June 2020 |language=en |quote=to ... EFFECT}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Janus Words |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=28 June 2020 |language=en |quote=to ... EFFECT}}</ref> | * ''Peruse'' can mean to "consider with attention and in detail" or "look over or through in a casual or cursory manner".<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of PERUSE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peruse |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=28 June 2020 |language=en |quote=to ... EFFECT}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Janus Words |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-own-opposites |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=28 June 2020 |language=en |quote=to ... EFFECT}}</ref> | ||
* ''Ravel'' can mean "to separate" (e.g., threads in cloth) or "to entangle".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Canadian Oxford dictionary |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195418163 |page=1283 |edition=2nd |quote=entangle...disentangle, unravel}}</ref> | * ''Ravel'' can mean "to separate" (e.g., threads in cloth) or "to entangle".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Canadian Oxford dictionary |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195418163 |page=1283 |edition=2nd |quote=entangle...disentangle, unravel}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/when-un-isnt-negative|title='Un-': You Don't Always Have to Be So Negative|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref> | ||
* ''Sanction'' can mean " | * ''Sanction'' can mean "to give approval" or "to impose a penalty upon".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 2025 |title=Definition of SANCTION |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanction |access-date=1 November 2025 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> | ||
* ''Table'' can mean "to discuss a topic at a meeting" (''British English'') or "to postpone discussion of a topic" (''American English''). Canadian English uses both meanings of the word.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Barber |editor1-first=Katherine |title=Canadian Oxford Dictionary |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press Canada |location=Don Mills, Ontario |isbn=9780195418163 |page=1580 |edition=Second}}</ref> | * ''Table'' can mean "to discuss a topic at a meeting" (''British English'') or "to postpone discussion of a topic" (''American English''). Canadian English uses both meanings of the word.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Barber |editor1-first=Katherine |title=Canadian Oxford Dictionary |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press Canada |location=Don Mills, Ontario |isbn=9780195418163 |page=1580 |edition=Second}}</ref> | ||
<!-- THIS IS NOT A LIST ARTICLE. Provide a reliable source or get consensus for new entries. See WP:EXAMPLEFARM]]. --> | <!-- THIS IS NOT A LIST ARTICLE. Provide a reliable source or get consensus for new entries. See WP:EXAMPLEFARM]]. --> | ||
=== Other languages === | === Other languages === | ||
====Verbs==== | ====Verbs==== | ||
* The [[Romanian language|Romanian]] verb ''a închiria'', the [[French language|French]] verb ''louer'', the [[Afrikaans Language|Afrikaans]] verb ''[[wikt:huur|huur]]'', the Finnish verb ''vuokrata''<ref>{{Cite web|title=sanakirja.org|url=https://www.sanakirja.org/search.php?id=119813&l2=3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126130436/https://www.sanakirja.org/search.php?id=119813&l2=3 |archive-date=2021-11-26 }}</ref> and the Spanish {{lang|es|alquilar}}<ref name="Verne" /> and {{lang|es|arrendar}}<ref name="Prieto">{{cite web |last1=Prieto García-Seco |first1=David |title=Rinconete. Lengua. «Huésped» o significar una cosa y la contraria |url=https://cvc.cervantes.es/el_rinconete/anteriores/mayo_21/28052021_01.htm |website=cvc.cervantes.es |publisher=Centro Virtual Cervantes |access-date=7 May 2023 |language=es |date=2021-05-28}}</ref> mean "to rent" (as the [[wikt:lessee#English|lessee]] does) as well as "to let" (as the [[wikt:lessor#English|lessor]] does). The [[English language| English]] verb ''{{wikt-lang|en|rent}}'' can also describe either the lessee's or the lessor's role. | * The [[Romanian language|Romanian]] verb ''a închiria'', the [[French language|French]] verb ''louer'', the [[Afrikaans Language|Afrikaans]] verb ''[[wikt:huur|huur]]'', the Finnish verb ''vuokrata''<ref>{{Cite web|title=sanakirja.org|url=https://www.sanakirja.org/search.php?id=119813&l2=3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126130436/https://www.sanakirja.org/search.php?id=119813&l2=3 |archive-date=2021-11-26 }}</ref> and the Spanish {{lang|es|alquilar}}<ref name="Verne" /> and {{lang|es|arrendar}}<ref name="Prieto">{{cite web |last1=Prieto García-Seco |first1=David |title=Rinconete. Lengua. «Huésped» o significar una cosa y la contraria |url=https://cvc.cervantes.es/el_rinconete/anteriores/mayo_21/28052021_01.htm |website=cvc.cervantes.es |publisher=Centro Virtual Cervantes |access-date=7 May 2023 |language=es |date=2021-05-28}}</ref> mean "to rent" (as the [[wikt:lessee#English|lessee]] does) as well as "to let" (as the [[wikt:lessor#English|lessor]] does). The [[English language| English]] verb ''{{wikt-lang|en|rent}}'' can also describe either the lessee's or the lessor's role. | ||
* In Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|dar}} (basic meaning "to give"), when applied to lessons or subjects, can mean "to teach", "to take classes" or "to recite", depending on the context.<ref name="DRAE dar">{{cite book| title=Diccionario de la lengua española |date=2021 |publisher=RAE-ASALE |edition=23 |url=https://dle.rae.es/dar?m=form |access-date=22 April 2022 |language=es |chapter=dar |quote=14. tr. Impartir una lección, pronunciar una conferencia o charla. 15. tr. Recibir una clase. Ayer dimos clase de matemáticas. 16. tr. Dicho de un alumno: Recitar la lección.}}</ref> Similarly with the [[French language|French]] verb ''[[wikt:apprendre|apprendre]]'', which usually means "to learn" but may refer to the action of teaching someone.<ref name="DRAE apprendre">{{cite book| title=Le Petit Robert, dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française |date=2022 |publisher=Dictionnaires Le Robert – SEJER |url=https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/apprendre |access-date=30 March 2023 |language=fr |chapter=apprendre |quote=I. (sens subjectif) Être avisé, informé de (qqch.). II. (sens objectif) 2. Donner la connaissance, le savoir, la pratique de (qqch.).}}</ref> Dutch {{wikt-lang|nl|leren}} and [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] {{wikt-lang|af|leer}} can mean "to teach" or "to learn". | |||
* In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] the root נכר can mean "to recognize" or "to be a stranger [to ''not'' be recognized]" ([[Marcus Jastrow]], ''A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature.'' New York: Pardes, 1950, vol. II,911-912). The root appears 4 times in Genesis 42:7-8 (Jonathan Sacks, ''The Koren Shalem Humash with Rashi and Onkelos.'' Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2025, 305). | |||
* In [[Greek language|Greek]] some verbs that begin with the prefix "''από-''" ''(apo-'') can have a contranym meaning. A prominent example is the verb "''[[wikt:αποφράζω|αποφράζω]]''" means "''to plug something, to fill a hole''", and is usually used as a medical term, based on the original ancient Greek meaning. The more modern Greek meaning is "''to unplug something, remove a blockage''". Similar verbs are "''απογεμίζω''", that can both mean "''to fill up to a brim''" and "''to empty completely''" and "''απομαθαίνω''", that can both mean "''to learn something very well''" and "''to forget something I learned''". The meaning that negates the main action, is usually a more modern Greek one. The prefix "apo-" sometimes enhances an action and sometimes negates it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sarantakos |first=Nikos |date=18 June 2014 |title=Απόφραξη σημαίνει βούλωμα ή ξεβούλωμα; |url=https://sarantakos.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/apofrax/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250521115028/https://sarantakos.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/apofrax/ |archive-date=21 May 2025 |access-date=21 May 2025 |website=Οι λέξεις έχουν τη δική τους ιστορία}}</ref> | |||
* In Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|dar}} (basic meaning "to give"), when applied to lessons or subjects, can mean "to teach", "to take classes" or "to recite", depending on the context.<ref name="DRAE dar">{{cite book| title=Diccionario de la lengua española |date=2021 |publisher=RAE-ASALE |edition=23 |url=https://dle.rae.es/dar?m=form |access-date=22 April 2022 |language=es |chapter=dar |quote=14. tr. Impartir una lección, pronunciar una conferencia o charla. 15. tr. Recibir una clase. Ayer dimos clase de matemáticas. 16. tr. Dicho de un alumno: Recitar la lección.}}</ref> Similarly with the [[French language|French]] verb ''[[wikt:apprendre|apprendre]]'', which usually means "to learn" but may refer to the action of teaching someone.<ref name="DRAE apprendre">{{cite book| title=Le Petit Robert, dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française |date=2022 |publisher=Dictionnaires Le Robert – SEJER |url=https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/apprendre |access-date=30 March 2023 |language=fr |chapter=apprendre |quote=I. (sens subjectif) Être avisé, informé de (qqch.). II. (sens objectif) 2. Donner la connaissance, le savoir, la pratique de (qqch.).}}</ref> Dutch {{wikt-lang|nl|leren}} and [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] {{wikt-lang|af|leer}} | |||
* | |||
* In [[Greek language|Greek]] some verbs that | |||
====Adverbs==== | ====Adverbs==== | ||
* {{langx|is|fram eftir}} can mean "toward the sea" or "away from the sea" depending on dialect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://islenskordabok.arnastofnun.is/ord/13108|lang=is|title=Íslensk nútímamálsorðabók|publisher=Árnastofnun|access-date=2024-12-05}}</ref> | * {{langx|is|fram eftir}} can mean "toward the sea" or "away from the sea" depending on dialect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://islenskordabok.arnastofnun.is/ord/13108|lang=is|title=Íslensk nútímamálsorðabók|publisher=Árnastofnun|access-date=2024-12-05}}</ref> | ||
* {{Langx|ga|ar ball}} can mean "a while ago" or "in a little bit/later on"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.teanglann.ie/ga/fgb/ar_ball|title=Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill): ar ball|website=www.teanglann.ie}}</ref> | * {{Langx|ga|ar ball}} can mean "a while ago" or "in a little bit/later on"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.teanglann.ie/ga/fgb/ar_ball|title=Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill): ar ball|website=www.teanglann.ie}}</ref> | ||
====Adjectives==== | ====Adjectives==== | ||
*The [[Latin]] ''[[wikt:sinister#Latin|sinister]]'' {{lit|left}} meant both "auspicious" and "inauspicious", within the respective Roman and Greek traditions of [[augury]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.societasviaromana.net/Collegium_Religionis/augury.php|title=On Auguries|author=M. Horatius Piscinus}}</ref> The negative meaning was carried on into French and ultimately English.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/sinister#etymonline_v_23561|website=www.etymonline.com|title=sinister (adj.)}}</ref> | *The [[Latin]] ''[[wikt:sinister#Latin|sinister]]'' {{lit|left}} meant both "auspicious" and "inauspicious", within the respective Roman and Greek traditions of [[augury]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.societasviaromana.net/Collegium_Religionis/augury.php|title=On Auguries|author=M. Horatius Piscinus}}</ref> The negative meaning was carried on into French and ultimately English.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/sinister#etymonline_v_23561|website=www.etymonline.com|title=sinister (adj.)}}</ref> | ||
*Latin {{Wikt-lang|la|nimius}} means "excessive, too much". It maintained this meaning in Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|nimio}}, but it was also misinterpreted as "insignificant, without importance".<ref name="RAE nimio">{{cite book |title=Diccionario de la lengua española |date=2021 |publisher=RAE-ASALE |edition=23 |url=https://dle.rae.es/nimio |access-date=22 April 2022 |language=es |chapter=nimio, nimia}}</ref><ref name="Verne">{{cite web |last=Rubio Hancock|first=Jaime|title=19 autoantónimos: palabras que significan una cosa y la contraria |url=https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2016/08/23/articulo/1471965781_732292.html |website=Verne |publisher=Ediciones El País |access-date=7 May 2023 |language=es |date=28 August 2016}}</ref> | *Latin {{Wikt-lang|la|nimius}} means "excessive, too much". It maintained this meaning in Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|nimio}}, but it was also misinterpreted as "insignificant, without importance".<ref name="RAE nimio">{{cite book |title=Diccionario de la lengua española |date=2021 |publisher=RAE-ASALE |edition=23 |url=https://dle.rae.es/nimio |access-date=22 April 2022 |language=es |chapter=nimio, nimia}}</ref><ref name="Verne">{{cite web |last=Rubio Hancock|first=Jaime|title=19 autoantónimos: palabras que significan una cosa y la contraria |url=https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2016/08/23/articulo/1471965781_732292.html |website=Verne |publisher=Ediciones El País |access-date=7 May 2023 |language=es |date=28 August 2016}}</ref> | ||
*In [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], {{ | *In [[Korean language|Korean]], ''{{wikt-lang|ko|연패}}'' (yeonpae) means either "consecutive losses" (the [[Sino-Korean]] word {{lang|ko-Hant|連敗}}) or "consecutive wins" (orthographic borrowing of [[Japanese]] {{wikt-lang|ja|連覇}}). | ||
*In [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], {{wikt-lang|vi|minh}} means among other things "bright, clear" (from [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Vietnamese]] {{lang|vi-Hant|明}}) and "dead, gloomy" (from {{lang|vi-Hant|冥}}). Because of this, the name of the dwarf planet [[Pluto]] is not adapted from {{Script|Hant|冥王星}} as in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.<ref name="RenshawIhara2000">{{cite web | |||
|first1 = Steve | |first1 = Steve | ||
|last1 = Renshaw | |last1 = Renshaw | ||
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== See also == | == See also == | ||
* [[X mark]], which can either be synonymous or antonymous with a [[check mark]] in various contexts | |||
* [[Īhām]], ambiguity used as a literary device in Middle Eastern poetry | * [[Īhām]], ambiguity used as a literary device in Middle Eastern poetry | ||
* [[-onym]], suffix denoting a class of names | * [[-onym]], suffix denoting a class of names | ||
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== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
* Sheidlower, Jesse (1 November 2005). [http://www.slate.com/id/2129105/?nav=tap3 "The Word We Love To Hate"]. ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''. | * [[Jesse Sheidlower|Sheidlower, Jesse]] (1 November 2005). [http://www.slate.com/id/2129105/?nav=tap3 "The Word We Love To Hate"]. ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''. | ||
* Leithauser, Brad (14 October 2013). [http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/10/unusable-words.html "Unusable Words"]. ''[[The New Yorker]]''. | * [[Brad Leithauser|Leithauser, Brad]] (14 October 2013). [http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/10/unusable-words.html "Unusable Words"]. ''[[The New Yorker]]''. | ||
* Herman, Judith B. (30 May 2014). [https://web.archive.org/web/20140530142820/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57032/25-words-are-their-own-opposites "25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites"]. ''[[Mental Floss]]''. | * Herman, Judith B. (30 May 2014). [https://web.archive.org/web/20140530142820/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57032/25-words-are-their-own-opposites "25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites"]. ''[[Mental Floss]]''. | ||
* Schulz, Kathryn (7 April 2015). [http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-part-of-no-totally-dont-you-understand What Part of "No, Totally" Don't You Understand?]. ''The New Yorker''. | * [[Kathryn Schulz|Schulz, Kathryn]] (7 April 2015). [http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-part-of-no-totally-dont-you-understand What Part of "No, Totally" Don't You Understand?]. ''The New Yorker''. | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
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[[Category:Semantics]] | [[Category:Semantics]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Wordplay]] | ||
[[Category:Types of words]] | [[Category:Types of words]] | ||
[[Category:Dichotomies]] | [[Category:Dichotomies]] | ||
[[Category:Ambiguity]] | [[Category:Ambiguity]] | ||
[[Category:Polysemy]] | [[Category:Polysemy]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:04, 31 December 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". A contronym or contranym is a word with two opposite meanings. For example, the word cleave can mean "to cling" or "to split apart". This feature is also called enantiosemy,[1][2] enantionymy (enantio- means "opposite"), antilogy or autoantonymy. An enantiosemic term is by definition polysemic (having more than one meaning).
Nomenclature
A contronym is alternatively called an autantonym, auto-antonym, antagonym,[3][4] enantiodrome, enantionym, Janus word (after the Roman god Janus, who is usually depicted with two faces),[4] self-antonym, antilogy, or aḍdād (Arabic, singular ḍidd).[5][6]
Linguistic mechanisms
Denotations and connotations of words can drift or branch over centuries. An apocryphal story relates how Charles II (or sometimes Queen Anne) described St Paul's Cathedral (using contemporaneous English) as "Script error: No such module "Lang".", with the meaning (rendered in modern English) of "amazing, awe-inspiring, and artistic."[7]
Examples
English
- Cleave can mean "to cling" or "to split apart".[4][8]
- Clip can mean "attach" or "cut off".[4]
- Drop can mean "release or make available" (e.g., a music record) or "abandon or discontinue".[9]
- Dust can mean "to remove dust" (cleaning a house) or "to add dust" (e.g., to dust a cake with powdered sugar).[4][8] This contradiction features in the children's book Amelia Bedelia.[10]
- Fast can mean "without moving; fixed in place", (holding fast, also as in "steadfast"), or "moving quickly".[4][8]
- Obbligato in music traditionally means a passage is "obligatory" but has also been used to mean "optional".[11][12]
- Overlook can mean "to make an accidental omission or error" or "to engage in close scrutiny or control".[13]
- Oversight can mean "accidental omission or error" or "close scrutiny or control".[14]
- Peruse can mean to "consider with attention and in detail" or "look over or through in a casual or cursory manner".[15][16]
- Ravel can mean "to separate" (e.g., threads in cloth) or "to entangle".[17][18]
- Sanction can mean "to give approval" or "to impose a penalty upon".[19]
- Table can mean "to discuss a topic at a meeting" (British English) or "to postpone discussion of a topic" (American English). Canadian English uses both meanings of the word.[20]
Other languages
Verbs
- The Romanian verb a închiria, the French verb louer, the Afrikaans verb huur, the Finnish verb vuokrata[21] and the Spanish Script error: No such module "Lang".[22] and Script error: No such module "Lang".[23] mean "to rent" (as the lessee does) as well as "to let" (as the lessor does). The English verb Template:Wikt-lang can also describe either the lessee's or the lessor's role.
- In Spanish Template:Wikt-lang (basic meaning "to give"), when applied to lessons or subjects, can mean "to teach", "to take classes" or "to recite", depending on the context.[24] Similarly with the French verb apprendre, which usually means "to learn" but may refer to the action of teaching someone.[25] Dutch Template:Wikt-lang and Afrikaans Template:Wikt-lang can mean "to teach" or "to learn".
- In Hebrew the root נכר can mean "to recognize" or "to be a stranger [to not be recognized]" (Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature. New York: Pardes, 1950, vol. II,911-912). The root appears 4 times in Genesis 42:7-8 (Jonathan Sacks, The Koren Shalem Humash with Rashi and Onkelos. Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2025, 305).
- In Greek some verbs that begin with the prefix "από-" (apo-) can have a contranym meaning. A prominent example is the verb "αποφράζω" means "to plug something, to fill a hole", and is usually used as a medical term, based on the original ancient Greek meaning. The more modern Greek meaning is "to unplug something, remove a blockage". Similar verbs are "απογεμίζω", that can both mean "to fill up to a brim" and "to empty completely" and "απομαθαίνω", that can both mean "to learn something very well" and "to forget something I learned". The meaning that negates the main action, is usually a more modern Greek one. The prefix "apo-" sometimes enhances an action and sometimes negates it.[26]
Adverbs
- Template:Langx can mean "toward the sea" or "away from the sea" depending on dialect.[27]
- Template:Langx can mean "a while ago" or "in a little bit/later on"[28]
Adjectives
- The Latin sinister Template:Lit meant both "auspicious" and "inauspicious", within the respective Roman and Greek traditions of augury.[29] The negative meaning was carried on into French and ultimately English.[30]
- Latin Template:Wikt-lang means "excessive, too much". It maintained this meaning in Spanish Template:Wikt-lang, but it was also misinterpreted as "insignificant, without importance".[31][22]
- In Korean, Template:Wikt-lang (yeonpae) means either "consecutive losses" (the Sino-Korean word Script error: No such module "Lang".) or "consecutive wins" (orthographic borrowing of Japanese Template:Wikt-lang).
- In Vietnamese, Template:Wikt-lang means among other things "bright, clear" (from Sino-Vietnamese Script error: No such module "Lang".) and "dead, gloomy" (from Script error: No such module "Lang".). Because of this, the name of the dwarf planet Pluto is not adapted from <templatestyles src="Script/styles.css" />冥王星Template:Script/doc/id-unk as in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.[32][33][34]
- Spanish Template:Wikt-lang meant originally "blissful, fortunate" as in Script error: No such module "Lang"., "fortunate land". However it developed an ironic and colloquial meaning "bothersome, unlucky", as in Script error: No such module "Lang"., "Damned flies!".[35]
In translation
Seeming contronyms can arise from translation. In Hawaiian, for example, aloha is translated both as "hello" and as "goodbye", but the essential meaning of the word is "love", whether used as a greeting or farewell. Similarly, 안녕 (annyeong) in Korean can mean both "hello" and "goodbye" but the central meaning is "peace". The Italian greeting ciao is translated as "hello" or "goodbye" depending on the context; the original meaning was "at your service" (literally "(I'm your) slave").[36]
See also
- X mark, which can either be synonymous or antonymous with a check mark in various contexts
- Īhām, ambiguity used as a literary device in Middle Eastern poetry
- -onym, suffix denoting a class of names
- Oxymoron, contradiction used as a figure of speech
- Semantics
- Skunked term, a term that becomes difficult to use because it is evolving from one meaning to another, or is otherwise controversial
References
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"., where "enantiosemy" is mentioned along with "auto-opposite",
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- ↑ "Amelia Bedelia". LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-02-18.
- ↑ "Obbligato" in Lectionary of Music, Nicolas Slonimsky. McGraw-Hill Template:ISBN
- ↑ "Obbligato" in Collins Music Encyclopedia, Westrup & Harrison: Collins, London, 1959
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- ↑ Ronnie Ferguson, A linguistic history of Venice, 2007, Template:Isbn, p. 284
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Further reading
- Sheidlower, Jesse (1 November 2005). "The Word We Love To Hate". Slate.
- Leithauser, Brad (14 October 2013). "Unusable Words". The New Yorker.
- Herman, Judith B. (30 May 2014). "25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites". Mental Floss.
- Schulz, Kathryn (7 April 2015). What Part of "No, Totally" Don't You Understand?. The New Yorker.