# Words that are their own opposites **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331 "2021-08-22T22:53:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/1 "2021-08-22T22:53:56Z")
I’ve long been interested in words that have multiple, contradictory meanings. In English, one of the best known is “sanction,” which can mean either _to punish_ or _to approve_. “Cleave” means either _to split apart_ or _to cling to_. However, I did not realize that there are so many of these words. > **[75 Contronyms (Words with Contradictory Meanings)](https://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-contronyms-words-with-contradictory-meanings/)** > > The English language includes an interesting category of words and phrases called contronyms (also spelled contranyms, or referred to as autoantonyms) -- terms ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/2 "2021-08-22T23:33:03Z")
Post removed by the author ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/3 "2021-08-23T04:57:09Z")
Yeah, “Cleave” is one of my favorites for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/4 "2021-08-23T13:40:57Z")
The OP’s link pretty well covers them all. It even has ‘fine’ which I had thought of in the past as an example of this, and hadn’t seen on similar lists before. One I can think of that isn’t on that list: ‘citation’ can either mean an award or some form of positive recognition, or it can be a punishment, like a traffic ticket. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/5 "2021-08-23T15:12:16Z")
I feel like we just did this thread recently. Or maybe we’ve done it several times. Anyhow, I was going to chime in and say you need to look up “contranym” but you’ve figured that out by now. All the big ones seem to be in that list – perhaps you can add “raise/raze” when spoken. ---
**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 23, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/6 "2021-08-23T19:03:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I feel like we just did this thread recently. Yeah, I think so too. Anyway, as we’re dealing in lists, the wiki page on auto-antonyms has a few not included in the original list. > **[Contronym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-antonym)** > > A contronym, contranym or autantonym is a word with two meanings that are opposite each other. For example, the word cleave can mean "to cut apart" or "to bind together". This phenomenon is called enantiosemy, enantionymy (enantio- means "opposite"), antilogy or autantonymy. An enantiosemic term is by definition polysemic. > A contronym is alternatively called an auto-antonym, antagonym, enantiodrome, enantionym, Janus word (after the Roman god Janus, who is usually depicted with two faces), self-... j ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/7 "2022-05-09T19:40:21Z")
Anathema, which usually means something accursed or to be excluded has an older meaning - “A thing devoted or consecrated to divine use.” ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/8 "2022-05-09T19:52:58Z")
I must admit that I was confused, for a while, by the reports about various Russian oligarchs who have been ‘sanctioned’ in the UK. At first, I thought this was using the definition of the word that means “approve” rather than “penalize”. Why were all these atrocious kleptokrats getting government approval? Eventually, the penny dropped. Sanction is an auto-antonym. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/9 "2022-05-09T20:13:00Z")
Cleave is actually two distinct words with entirely different etymologies whose spelling and pronunciation have fallen together. Cleave (clove, cleft/cloven) means to split, while cleave (cleaved, cleaved) means to come together. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/10 "2022-05-11T08:56:47Z")
“sanction” might simply be a word with one meaning, when properly defined. I think it really just means “singled out for special treatment or consideration”, which could cut either way. Some of these other contranyms perhaps work the same way. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2022, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/11 "2022-05-11T09:29:21Z")
Just for the record, as the English contronyms seem to be well covered already, the German word “Untiefe”, literally translatable as un-depth, means both very deep and very shallow waters. Those words are called [Januswörter](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Januswort), like the two faced Roman god. The Spanish contronymity, on the other hand, is called [enantiosemia](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiosem%C3%ADa), because Greek seems to sound better than Latin for that. The Hindi word कल, the Spanish Wiki claims, means both tomorrow and yesterday. Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/12 "2022-05-11T12:19:24Z")
‘Fast’ is a borderline case. It can mean either moving rapidly, or fixed immovably in place. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/13 "2022-05-11T12:33:01Z")
Should we accept “literally” on this list now as it also means figuratively by common usage and IIRC a couple of dictionary’s definitions. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/14 "2022-05-11T16:24:16Z")
“Fair”, when used to describe a woman’s appearance, can mean either “beautiful” or “average”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/15 "2022-05-11T16:49:28Z")
Oversight? ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/16 "2022-05-11T17:12:46Z")
Does “inflammable” count? It doesn’t ever _actually_ mean “not flammable”, but it _looks_ like it should mean that. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/17 "2022-05-11T17:13:36Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Just for the record, as the English contronyms seem to be well covered already, the German word “Untiefe”, literally translatable as un-depth, means both very deep and very shallow waters. This confused me to no end when I was young. I thought that “Untiefe” always meant unimaginable depths, but I often encountered the word in the context of navigating ships near the coast and running aground and was confused until I understood that it also could mean shallow water. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/18 "2022-05-11T17:16:26Z")
Invaluable? Priceless? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/19 "2022-05-17T01:45:30Z")
Resign - to quit your job Resign - to sign a contract (for work) again. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331/20 "2022-05-17T02:50:42Z")
In the US, to table a motion means to set it aside for later discussion. In the UK, it means to start discussion now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-their-own-opposites/949331.md?page=2)