Words That Are Their Own Antonyms
It’s obvious I’m a sucker for anything to do with words, so of course I was interested when I ran across an article by Samuel Stoddard where he talks about contronyms. A contronym is a word that is its own antonym- it has two or more meanings that are contradictory.
Here are the first 10 from his long list of contronyms.
- anabasis – military advance, military retreat
- apology – admission of fault in what you think, say, or do; formal defense of what you think, say, or do
- aught – all, nothing
- bolt – secure, run away
- by – multiplication (e.g., a three by five matrix), division (e.g., dividing eight by four)
- chuffed – pleased, annoyed
- cleave – separate, adhere
- clip – fasten, detach
- consult – ask for advice, give advice
- copemate – partner, antagonist
