Jeff
Antonyms, Synonyms.... Almost all of us know what an antonym or a synonym is. However, besides linguists, most of us do not know what a "contronym" is. There is one such creature in the previous sentence. This word is also spelt as "contranym" or known as an "autoantonym". What this word means, is that it has an opposite meaning to itself! (So I guess this word does not have an opposite!) For example, the word "besides". One meaning is "other than; except for; instead of". It can also mean "in addition (to)"! Here are a few more examples, Seed - "to put in" - "Dry ice is needed to seed clouds to induce rainfall" - "to remove" - "Pomegranate juice is wonderful but the fruit has to be seeded" Terrible - "bad" - "I had a terrible night" "good" - "It's terribly nice of you to drop by". Catholic - "liberal" - "You have Catholic tastes" - "conservative" - You have Catholic views" Check - "an amount owed" at the restaurant. - "an amount given" - paycheck. In this last example, UK English spell the second meaning as "cheque". These are not rare creatures in the English vocabulary. For those learning English, make sure you are using the word correctly given the context! In the correction box are many more of such examples.
12 Eyl 2013 21:02
Düzeltmeler · 2

Antonyms, Synonyms....

"All but" can mean "except for" or "almost entirely".
"Apparent" can mean "obvious" or "seeming, but in fact not".
"Awful" can mean "worthy of awe" or "very bad".
"Besides" means "other than; except for; instead of", but can also mean "in addition (to)".
"Buckle" can mean "fasten securely" as in "buckle your seat belt", or it can mean "collapse by bending" as in "buckle under pressure".
"Catholic" can mean "wide-ranging, liberal", as in "catholic tastes", or "conservative", as in "Catholic views" (usually capitalized as this meaning is derived from the Catholic Church).
"Check" can mean "an amount of money given to an individual" (e.g. a paycheck) or "an amount of money an individual owes to another party" (e.g. at a restaurant).
"Chuffed" can mean "displeased; disgruntled" or "pleased; satisfied".
"Citation" can mean "commendation" or a "summons to appear in court".
"Custom" can mean "standard" (shorthand for customary) or "tailored".
"To cleave" can mean "to cling" or "to split".
"Discursive" can mean "covering a wide field of subjects; rambling" or "proceeding to a conclusion through reason rather than intuition".
"To dust" can mean to remove dust (cleaning a house) or to add dust (dust a cake with powdered sugar).
"Fast" can mean "moving quickly" as in "running fast," or it can mean "not moving" as in "stuck fast".
"To fight with someone" can mean "to fight against someone" or "to fight alongside someone".
"Impregnable" can mean "able to be impregnated" or "incapable of being entered".
"Literally" can mean "word for word, not metaphorically or idiomatically", but is also often used informally as an intensifier for figurative statements, ending up roughly synonymous with "virtually, figuratively".[3]
"Nonplussed" can mean (of a person) "surprised and confused so much that they are unsure how to react", but is often used informally as "not disconcerted; unperturbed".
"Off" can mean "deactivated" as in "to turn off", or it can mean "activated" as in "the alarm went off".
"To overlook" can mean "to inspect" or "to fail to notice".
"Oversight" (uncountable) means "supervision", "an oversight" (countable) means "not noticing something".
"To peruse" can mean "to examine in detail", or "to look over in a cursory manner"
"Radical" can mean "related to roots or origins" such as "radical leaves" or "breaking from tradition" as in "political radicals".
"Ravel" can mean to combine thread or to separate it.
"Refrain" means both non-action and the repetition of an action, e.g. in musical notation.
"To rent" can mean "to borrow from" or "to lend to".
"To sanction" can mean "to permit" or "to punish".
"To screen" can mean to show or to hide.
"Shelled" can mean "having a shell" or "has had the shell removed".
"To skin" means "to cover with skin" (as in to skin a drum) as well as "to strip or peel off" (as in to skin an animal).
"Snuff" can mean a specific kind of tobacco, as well as to inhale it, and to extinguish.
"To stay" can mean "to remain in a specific place, to postpone" or "to guide direction, movement".
"Stem-winder" means "a rousing political speech" but can also mean "a long, boring speech". [4]
"To stint" means "to stop", but the noun "stint" refers to the interval of work between stops.
"Strike", in baseball terms, can mean "to hit the ball" or "to miss the ball".
"Stroke" as a verb means "caress" while as a noun, "a forceful hit".
"Terrific" can mean "very good" or "very bad".
"Weedy" can mean "overgrown" ("The garden is weedy") or stunted ("The boy looks weedy").

12 Eylül 2013

Here are two links for more information and examples.

 

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-contronyms-words-with-contradictory-meanings/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym

 

Reproduced below are for those who cannot access the links.

 

1. Apology: A statement of contrition for an action, or a defense of one
2. Aught: All, or nothing
3. Bill: A payment, or an invoice for payment
4. Bolt: To secure, or to flee
5. Bound: Heading to a destination, or restrained from movement
6. Buckle: To connect, or to break or collapse
7. Cleave: To adhere, or to separate
8. Clip: To fasten, or detach
9. Consult: To offer advice, or to obtain it
10. Continue: To keep doing an action, or to suspend an action
11. Custom: A common practice, or a special treatment
12. Dike: A wall to prevent flooding, or a ditch
13. Discursive: Moving in an orderly fashion among topics, or proceeding aimlessly in a discussion
14. Dollop: A large amount (British English), or a small amount
15. Dust: To add fine particles, or to remove them
16. Enjoin: To impose, or to prohibit
17. Fast: Quick, or stuck or made stable
18. Fine: Excellent, or acceptable or good enough
19. Finished: Completed, or ended or destroyed
20. First degree: Most severe in the case of a murder charge, or least severe in reference to a burn
21. Fix: To repair, or to castrate
22. Flog: To promote persistently, or to criticize or beat
23. Garnish: To furnish, as with food preparation, or to take away, as with wages
24. Give out: To provide, or to stop because of a lack of supply
25. Go: To proceed or succeed, or to weaken or fail
26. Grade: A degree of slope, or a horizontal line or position
27. Handicap: An advantage provided to ensure equality, or a disadvantage that prevents equal achievement
28. Help: To assist, or to prevent or (in negative constructions) restrain
29. Hold up: To support, or to impede
30. Lease: To offer property for rent, or to hold such property
31. Left: Remained, or departed
32. Let: Allowed, or hindered
33. Liege: A feudal lord, or a vassal
34. Literally: Actually, or virtually
35. Mean: Average or stingy, or excellent
36. Model: An exemplar, or a copy
37. Off: Deactivated, or activated, as an alarm
38. Out: Visible, as with stars showing in the sky, or invisible, in reference to lights
39. Out of: Outside, or inside, as in working out of a specific office
40. Overlook: To supervise, or to neglect
41. Oversight: Monitoring, or failing to oversee
42. Peer: A person of the nobility, or an equal
43. Presently: Now, or soon
44. Put out: Extinguish, or generate
45. Puzzle: A problem, or to solve one
46. Quantum: Significantly large, or a minuscule part
47. Quiddity: Essence, or a trifling point of contention
48. Quite: Rather (as a qualifying modifier), or completely
49. Ravel: To entangle, or to disentangle
50. Refrain: To desist from doing something, or to repeat
51. Rent: To purchase use of something, or to sell use
52. Rock: An immobile mass of stone or figuratively similar phenomenon, or a shaking or unsettling movement or action
53. Sanction: To approve, or to boycott
54. Sanguine: Confidently cheerful, or bloodthirsty
55. Scan: To peruse, or to glance
56. Screen: To present, or to conceal
57. Seed: To sow seeds, or to shed or remove them
58. Shop: To patronize a business in order to purchase something, or to sell something
59. Skin: To cover, or to remove
60. Skinned: Covered with skin, or with the skin removed
61. Splice: To join, or to separate
62. Stakeholder: One who has a stake in an enterprise, or a bystander who holds the stake for those placing a bet
63. Strike: To hit, or to miss in an attempt to hit
64. Table: To propose (in British English), or to set aside
65. Temper: To soften, or to strengthen
66. Throw out: To dispose of, or to present for consideration
67. Transparent: Invisible, or obvious
68. Trim: To decorate, or to remove excess from
69. Trip: A journey, or a stumble
70. Unbending: Rigid, or relaxing
71. Variety: A particular type, or many types
72. Wear: To endure, or to deteriorate
73. Weather: To withstand, or to wear away
74. Wind up: To end, or to start up
75. With: Alongside, or against

12 Eylül 2013
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