Appendix:Contranyms
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
A contranym or contronym is a word that has opposing meanings. New items are collected in Category:Contranyms by language.
Contents |
[edit] Homophonic contranyms
These phonetic examples are contranyms under different spellings:
- raise/raze: build up / cut down
- petalless/petalous: without petals / with petals
- oral/aural: pertaining to speech / pertaining to hearing
[edit] Homographic contranyms
These examples are contranyms for different pronunciations:
- resign: (two pronunciations) cease working for / continue working for
[edit] Contranyms
These examples have both the same spelling and pronunciation:
[edit] Adjectives, adverbs and prepositions
- bound: moving (e.g. homeward bound) / unable to move (e.g. housebound)
- dry: having no water, such as alcohol / having no alcohol
- fast: moving quickly / unable to move
- fine: not above average / above average
- impregnable: not enterable / enterable (latter proscribed)
- off: off / on (e.g. the alarm went off)
- terrible: formidable / lousy
- discursive: rambling / proceeding coherently
- bad: terrible / actually good and cool
- seeded: with seeds / without seeds
[edit] Nouns and pronouns
- aught: anything / nothing
- bill: a medium of money (a $10 bill)/ a medium of money owed (a bill for $10)
- bomb: success / failure
- citation: commendation / condemnation
- commencement: the beginning / the end
- hack: clever solution / kludge
- handicap: advantage (e.g. in golf) / disadvantage
- oversight: watching over / not noticing
- quantum leap: smallest measureable increment / radical change
- strike: a success (e.g bowling) / a failure
[edit] Verbs
- cleave: to cut in two / to adhere (e.g. cleave to one's wife)
- clip: attach / cut off
- consult: to give advice / to receive advice
- dust: to remove dust from / to spray or cover something with fine powder
- fix: make something work correctly / stop an animal from working correctly
- hold up: aid / hinder
- lease: to pay for the use of / to offer something for payment
- left: to have departed from / to have remained
- let: to allow / to obstruct
- put out: cause to exist / cause to cease to exist
- rent: to pay for the use of / to offer something for payment
- sanction: approve / forbid
- scan: read carefully / skim
- screen: hide / show (e.g. a movie)
- seed: to remove seeds / to add seeds
- skin: to remove skin; to add skin
- strike: hit / miss (e.g. in baseball)
- table: bring forward for discussion / withdraw from discussion
- wind up: to start / to finish
