# Words that are their own antonym **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 8, 2024, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402 "2024-08-08T02:14:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/21 "2024-08-09T06:17:18Z")
I think it’s fine, the whole collection is built on technicalities. It’s more of a linguistic curiosity than a legitimate field of study. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/22 "2024-08-09T06:38:32Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I took a German class once, and the teacher explained that the German use of “an” isn’t quite the same as the English equivalent “on”. She said that a phrase like “the picture is on the wall” would be confusing in German; that “an” is only used for something that is resting on top of something else. I don’t know what preposition they would use for something that is affixed onto a vertical surface, like a picture hanging on a wall. > > I wonder if something similar is at work with “umfahren”. Going around something (over the top or around the side) is equivalent in a certain sense; after all, you’re not going through it. It only becomes an issue when you’re dealing with things like cars and pedestrians. I’m not sure what point your teacher was trying to make - „on the wall“ actually does translate to „an der Wand“. „An“ can also mean „by“, as in „next to“, but you’re absolutely right, prepositions hardly ever translate 100% directly. As to your own point, the use of „um“ refers to slightly different things in my example (and as I’ve tried to indicate, they’re stressed differently, too): the um in „umFAHRen“ refers to my own action of driving „around“ something, whereas „UMfahren“ means that something is being knocked over. Not sure if that makes sense. Also, the two words are separated differently when I rearrange the sentence structure: the first is „Ich umfahre den Fußgänger.“, the second one is „Ich fahre den Fußgänger um.“ Very confusing… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/23 "2024-08-09T06:47:21Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > I’m not sure what point your teacher was trying to make - „on the wall“ actually does translate to „an der Wand“. „An“ can also mean „by“, as in „next to“, but you’re absolutely right, prepositions hardly ever translate 100% directly. The class was 20 years ago, so I may have some of the details wrong. She may have been referring to the case of something that was resting on the floor (or a shelf, or tabletop) and propped up against a wall. “Leaning on the wall” would be a common way to say that in English; not sure about the German. And this is a bit of a hijack from the thread, so we can probably drop it here. ---
**Author:** ![Jegpeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jegpeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jegpeg)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/24 "2024-08-09T08:22:26Z")
**Wicked** extremely unpleasent or excellent **Sanction** to approve or to penalise **Bound** To be tied down or to be going somewhere ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/25 "2024-08-09T10:02:58Z")
> [@Jegpeg](#): > > **Wicked** extremely unpleasent or excellent This is an example of a word’s meaning being reversed as part of the developing argot of youth - I was also pondering these. There’s a whole class of them, going back generations. “Cool” - stand-offish or mellow is the earliest I can think of. “Sick” and “Bad” are another two. I’m sure there are many more. j ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/26 "2024-08-09T13:29:22Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > Let: to allow or (in tennis) to block. That’s not what it means in tennis though. If you’re thinking of a net ball first serve, it’s being used there as it gets used in tennis generally – it means to replay the point. > [@wolfpup](#): > > Not really a contronym. I’m not getting why it’s not a contronym. It means quickly, as in run fast, or securely so as to not move , as in “make fast.” ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/27 "2024-08-09T16:25:49Z")
**Moot** : can be used for both “debatable” or “irrelevant” It comes from ‘moot court,’ which is something akin to a mock trial or debate club. So a ‘moot point’ is something worthy of discussion or something only worth discussing hypothetically. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/28 "2024-08-09T16:35:59Z")
This one is largely a regional difference. In American English “moot” usually means irrelevant, while in British English it usually means debatable. But debatable and irrelevant are not really opposites. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/29 "2024-08-09T16:39:52Z")
Separated by a common language, indeed. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/30 "2024-08-09T17:41:53Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > _Cleave_ - to split in two or to join together. > > _Table_ - to propose, or to dismiss. Cleave is actually two entirely different verbs with distinct etymologies and inflections that seem to have accidentally fallen together. Cleave, cleft, cleft means to separate, while cleave, clove, cloven means to come together. As far as table is concerned, this is a difference between American and British usage, whether it means to put it on the table or take it off. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/31 "2024-08-09T19:09:01Z")
Peruse - to examine with attention and in detail vs Peruse - to look over in a casual or cursory manner. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/32 "2024-08-09T19:37:24Z")
Wasn’t there a previous thread? I know I have a whole list of such words written down somewhere… **nervy** : having nerve, bold, brazen / jittery, nervous, anxious ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/33 "2024-08-11T20:52:50Z")
Justice. If you carry a sign that says “Justice for OJ”, does it mean you support him or think he got off unfairly? Unclear. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/ztO4aRT.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/ztO4aRT) [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/7tiThQ7.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/7tiThQ7) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/34 "2024-08-11T21:10:23Z")
There was indeed, I remember contributing the German _Untiefe_, literally not-depth, which can mean a depth so deep you cannot fathom it or a very shallow water, like a sand bank, where a ship is going to hit bottom. I also remember that @EinsteinsHund wrote something about that too, but I forgot what it was. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/35 "2024-08-11T21:34:45Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I also remember that @EinsteinsHund wrote something about that too, but I forgot what it was. I also can’t remember a former thread or posting about that word, but it’s definitely possible, because I misunderstood it for a big chunk of my life. I live deeply in the inland with the next coast 350 km away (so I’m not a Fischkopp as the coastal people are called here), so I always took “Untiefe” to mean an unfathomable deep in the ocean, like the Mariana Trench, where if you are shipwrecked you’re bound to drown because there can be no rescue. Turned out it means the opposite, an unusually and unexpected shallow stretch of water near a coast that is a danger for ships to run onto ground. Of course now I understand that this is a much bigger concern for ships. But as @Pardel-Lux mentioned, my misconception wasn’t totally false because in other contexts, “Untiefe” really means unfathomable depth. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/36 "2024-08-11T22:13:43Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > Let: to allow or (in tennis) to block. > [@eschrodinger](#): > > That’s not what it means in tennis though. There is a legal term ‘let’ that means a prevention. Usually found in the phrase “without let or hindrance”. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/37 "2024-08-11T22:26:51Z")
For starters, there is the [Words that are their own opposites](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/47) thread. Maybe merge it with this one? ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/38 "2024-08-11T23:55:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > There is a legal term ‘let’ that means a prevention. Usually found in the phrase “without let or hindrance”. Maybe that’s what I was thinking of… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/39 "2024-08-14T20:35:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > And this is a bit of a hijack from the thread, so we can probably drop it here. I was watching the news just now, and the on-screen text said “evangelical group drops new ad for Harris”. I thought “oh, that’s too bad, it might have done some good; they shouldn’t just drop it.” Then I remembered what **drop** means now. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402/40 "2024-08-14T21:49:54Z")
> [@Jegpeg](#): > > **Sanction** to approve or to penalise Likewise “cited”… could mean recognized for excellence, or given a parking ticket. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-antonym/1005402.md?page=3)