# Lost unnegated words **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014 "2011-11-15T16:18:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/21 "2011-11-16T02:57:32Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Also, programmers sometimes use “underflow” as the opposite of “overflow”, especially in relation to stacks. An underflow occurs when you attempt to take something out of something that is empty. I thought underflow was a term used in floating point computations when you formed the difference of two large nearly equal numbers or the quotient of a very small number by a very large one and get a spurious 0. “Gruntled” exists, but is essentially the same as “disgruntled”. They are both related to “grunt”. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/22 "2011-11-16T10:55:01Z")
huh. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/23 "2011-11-16T12:01:15Z")
Here’s a question for all you telligent tellectuals to ponder: A city often has outskirts, but does it ever have inskirts? ---
**Author:** ![drbhoneydew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d78d45/32.png) [@drbhoneydew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drbhoneydew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/24 "2011-11-16T12:11:53Z")
Nocent is another - it’s the original opposite of innocent. We now use guilty. You don’t tend to see gormful all that often; gorm is a lovely old word for wisdom. I’ve been known to use it as a compliment - I really like using words that seem on first parse to mean the opposite. (Similarly for pulchritude, while pusillanimous and egregious don’t sound nearly as bad as they mean) While whelmed does exist, it’s a synonym for overwhelmed. Has there ever been an “onhand”? Offhand, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/25 "2011-11-17T20:08:24Z")
> [@drbhoneydew](#): > > Has there ever been an “onhand”? Offhand, I don’t know. On the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/26 "2011-11-17T20:32:15Z")
I just saw the thread title, and thought I’d mention [this song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX-QpCa9P_0). ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/27 "2011-11-17T20:40:38Z")
[Old article that uses those words and idioms](http://www.radiolive.co.nz/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_753DF9D7582DA025B8439DB331CA4DCFC29E0000/filename/HowIMetMyWife.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/28 "2011-11-17T20:43:57Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Uncanny. Canny is another of the joke words. As others have pointed out, “canny” is a perfectly cromulent word, though it isn’t the opposite of “uncanny.” > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Ditto uncouth. Couth is a joke word. “Couth” is also a perfectly cromulent word. I’ve heard it used many times. My own contribution: **nonplussed**. Though my dictionary says that it is quickly becoming its own antonym. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/29 "2011-11-17T21:29:37Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > You can be overwhelmed or underwhelmed, but few are simply whelmed. When the situation warrants, I’m fond of telling people that I am exactly the appropriate amount of whelmed. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Take care looking for the opposite of _flammable_. I remember once learning that _flammable_ and _inflammable_ have different meanings: flammable things will burn if exposed to flame, while _in_flammable things might combust even without coming into contact with a flame. BUT, damned if I can find any evidence on line for this – [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) provides identical definitions. It seems to make sense though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/30 "2011-11-17T21:43:22Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I’ve recently noticed words that are negations, but the corresponding unnegated words have fallen out of common use. Words like: > > inept > > It’s rare to see their opposites. Not in this case. Apt is a rather common word. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/31 "2011-11-28T23:08:28Z")
“Couth” and “canny” are not joke words. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014/32 "2011-11-28T23:39:00Z")
“Ruthless” is the negation of “rue” which is not all that rare. Ditto “inept” - “apt” and “heedless” - “heed”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-unnegated-words/603014.md?page=1)