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Writing Notes: Contronyms
Contronym
A word that has two meanings that are opposite or nearly opposite.
Example: Left means both “leave” (two people had left) and “remain” (How many people are left?), which are antonyms.
An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another.
Contronyms are also known as Janus words.
Janus was an ancient Roman god with two faces that looked in opposite directions.
Another term for these words is auto-antonym, or a word that means the opposite of itself.
Technical terms for this phenomenon are enantiosemy, enantionymy, or antilogy.
Examples of Contronyms
Cleave
Comes from two different Old English words, clēofan and cleofian, which is how it got these two opposite meanings.
Cleave: to split, to separate (Owen swung the axe down hard in order to cleave the log into two even pieces.)
Cleave: to adhere closely, to stick (Young beaver pups cleave to their mother in the water until they are strong enough to swim on their own.)
Dust
When used as a verb, is a contronym.
Dust: to wipe the dust from (Every Saturday, he would dust the nicknacks on the bookshelves to keep them clean.)
Dust: to sprinkle with a powder or dust (The baker liked to dust their pumpkin bread with just a sprinkle of cinnamon.)
Overlook
Overlook: to fail to notice, perceive, or consider (I hadn’t finished the last two homework questions, but I hoped my teacher would overlook it and give me full marks anyway.)
Overlook: to look after, oversee, or supervise (The manager was required to personally overlook the transfer of valuable materials every evening.)
Sanction
Sanction: to authorize, approve, or allow (My parents wouldn’t sanction video games in our home because they thought they were too violent.)
Sanction: to penalize (The school said they were going to sanction the students for arriving late to class.)
Weather
The word weather is a contronym, but only when used as a verb.
Weather: to expose to the weather, to disintegrate (The paint on the house was chipped and weathered from the decades of rain and snow.)
Weather: to endure (We weren’t sure that we would be able to weather the storm if we didn’t find shelter.)
Back Up
Back up: to support (Ultimately, the scientists were unable to back up their claims with hard evidence.)
Back up: to retreat (The zebras backed up when they spotted the alligators in the water.)
Fine
The adjective fine has the potential to lead to some real misunderstandings about just how excellent (or not) something is.
Fine: of superior or best quality (To prepare for the Queen’s visit, the household staff cleaned the fine linens and polished the best silver.)
Fine (informal): satisfactorily, acceptably (Sandra thought her performance was fine, but nothing special, so she was surprised when she won second place.)
Original
The adjective original is an example of a contronym.
Original: belonging to the beginning of something (Despite being hundreds of years old, the painting was still in its original frame.)
Original: new, fresh, inventive (While sitting in the bathtub, the inventor was struck with an original idea.)
Pitted
The contronym pitted often causes confusion at the grocery store.
Pitted: having pits; in the sense of “mark or indent” (The sailor’s face was pitted and craggy from the wind and salt water.)
Pitted: having the pit removed; in the sense of “stone of a fruit” (My mom reminded me to buy the pitted cherries, because she didn’t want to take out the stones herself.)
Bound
Bound is an example of a contronym that has two different meanings because it actually has two different etymologies. The first meaning comes from the Old English bindan. The second meaning comes from the Old Norse būinn, “to get ready.”
Bound: tied, fastened or secured with a band or bond (The Mountie rushed to save the woman who was bound to the railroad tracks.)
Bound: going or intending to go, destined [for] (With all of their talents, the band was bound to be a success.)
Source ⚜ More: Basics & Refreshers ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
don't you love it when an expression means two totally different things. it has everything covered.
one thing that's confusing is that if you say a team is a high seed what that means is that they are a [low number]-seed. and if they're a low seed they're a [high number]-seed. like the highest-seeded teams are 1-seeds even though in math 1 is generally considered to be the lowest positive integer and 16 (the lowest possible seed in march madness) is according to most mathematicians greater than 1. "high" is basically a contronym here.
Dusting
Deleting
Reinstalling
adding a filter
Fantasising and dreaming
I pretend that I am real
Finishing and restarting
With a fine layer of sugar and naughty
Powdering
Here
nothing is real
No dignity
but darkness and pouring rain
Not That Simple | 4.3k | M
She wasn't ever avoiding Eleanor in the two weeks that followed Ricken's book release, she was simply motivated to protect her brother, to bring Gemma back… crouching behind her car in the woods as she expressed, by hand, liquid (wasted) from her aching breasts into the hissing snow, the thawing dirt.
Something oversight
Carefully and carelessly at the same time
In control of my heart and my mind
It is holding me tight
this longing undenied
Then a slight turn around
Another kaleidoscope dream appears
colours change
hot meets cold
a mist of raindrops raise from the ground
Another turn
and they scatter in the golden sunlight
Another dream
There are clouds
a blindfold of cotton before my eyes
Shadow and Sonic are Contronyms (Antagonyms).