The Origin of Autoantonyms

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Autoantonyms If you have read our antonyms page, you will know that two words with opposite meanings are called antonyms. So autoantonyms are words that are the opposite of themselves!Auto-antonym has Greek roots meaning a word that is the opposite of itself. They have variously been called contranyms, contronyms, antilogies, Janus words (after the two-faced Greek mythical figure, from which "January" also derives), andenantiodromes. Below is a list af many such words, and their associated opposite (or near-opposite) meanings. See the bottom of the page for an explanation of how such contradictory meanings can come about.  adumbrate   verb • to clarify • to cast a shadow over  aught   noun • anything • nothing  bill   noun • invoice (e.g. in a restaurant) • money; banknote  bolt   verb • to secure in place • to dash away suddenly  bound   adj./verb • restrained (e.g. by rope) • to spring; leap  buckle   verb • to fasten • to come undone; give way; collapse  cleave   verb • to adhere; stick together • to cut apart; divide  clip   verb • to fasten together; hold tightly • to cut apart; cut off (e.g. with shears)  comprise   verb • to contain; include • to be composed of; consist of  custom   adjective • usual; normal • special; unique  dust   verb • to remove fine particles from (e.g. when cleaning) • to sprinkle fine particles onto  fast   adverb • fixed firmly in place • moving quickly; speedy  fine   adjective • just meets minimum standards; satisfactory • considerably better than average; excellent  give out   verb • to produce; distribute • to stop producing; cease functioning  handicap   noun/verb • advantage (e.g. in sport) • disadvantage; disability  hold up   verb • to support; cope • to hinder; delay  impregnable   adjective • impossible to enter (e.g. of a fortress) • able to be impregnated  lease   verb • to lend; rent out • to borrow; hire  left   verb • departed from • remaining  let   verb • to allow; grant permission • to prevent (e.g. "without let or hindrance")  literally   adverb • actually; really • figuratively; virtually  model   noun • archetype; example • copy; replica  moot   adjective • debatable; arguable • academic; irrelevant  overlook   verb • to examine; watch over • to fail to notice; miss  oversight   noun • watchful care; supervision • overlooking; omission  peer   noun • an equal; fellow (e.g. classmate) • a nobleman; person of higher rank  put   adj./verb • to begin to move hurriedly • stationary (e.g. "stay put")  put out   verb • to generate; produce • to extinguish; put an end to  puzzle   verb • to pose a problem • to solve a problem  quantum   adjective • very small (e.g. in Physics) • very large (e.g. "quantum leap")  ravel   verb • to tangle; complicate • to disentangle; separate  rent   verb • to lend; lease out • to borrow; hire  resign   verb • to quit; give up • to sign up again  root   verb • to remove completely • to become firmly established  sanction   verb/noun • to endorse; authorise • a punitive action  sanguine   adjective • murderous • cheerfully optimistic  scan   verb • to examine closely • to glance at hastily  screen   verb • to view; show • to conceal; shield  seed   verb • to remove seeds from • to add seeds to  set   verb • to fix in place • to flow; move on  shank   noun • latter part of a period of time • early part of a period of time  skin   verb • to cover with a skin • to remove the skin  splice   verb • to join together • to cut in two  strike   verb • to miss (e.g. in baseball) • to hit; collide with  table   verb • to propose; suggest • to postpone; shelve  temper   verb • to soften; mollify • to strengthen (e.g. a metal)  trim   verb • to cut pieces off (e.g. fingernails) • to add to; ornament  weather   verb • to withstand; stand up to • to wear away  wind up   verb • to start; prepare • to end; conclude The Origin of Autoantonyms Bob Fradkin explains how one of the major classes of auto-antonym comes about: Dust is part of a series of noun-verb conversions related to coverings of things. If the noun gives a covering that is natural to the thing, then the verb means remove the covering. If the covering is imposed, the verb means put the covering on.So you get shell an egg, peel a banana, but paint the furniture, wax the floor. Dust is interesting because it can go either way: dust the furniture (a sort of natural covering to be removed) vs. dust the crops (put stuff on them that they didn't have and wouldn't unless humans put it there). I mentioned this in my English grammar book Stalking the Wild Verb Phrase. Related page: What is an antonym? Do you know anyone else who would enjoy this? Email this page to a friend. Also: Sign up for our free web site updates here.

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