Etymologie, Etimología, Étymologie, Etimologia, Etymology, (griech.) etymología, (lat.) etymologia, (esper.) etimologio
US Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika, Estados Unidos de América, États-Unis d'Amérique, Stati Uniti d'America, United States of America, (esper.) Unuigintaj Statoj de Ameriko
Contronym, Contrónimo, Contronyme, Contronimo, Contronym, (esper.) kontronimoj

dailywritingtips.com
75 Contronyms

75 Contronyms (Words with Contradictory Meanings)

By Mark Nichol

The English language includes an interesting category of words and phrases called "contronyms" (also spelled "contranyms", or referred to as "autoantonyms") — terms that, depending on context, can have opposite or contradictory meanings. When you use these words, be sure the context clearly identifies which meaning is intended:
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dictionary.com - Contr
11 Contronyms You’ve Been Using Without Realizing It

Are these words two-faced?

There are four people at a dinner party. By midnight, two people had left. How many people are left at the party?

"Left" is just one of many words or expressions known as a "contronym" — or "contranym" — a word that has two meanings that are opposite or nearly opposite. In this example, "left" means both "leave" (two people had left) and "remain" (How many people are left?), which are "antonyms". An "antonym" is a word that is opposite in meaning to another.

"Contronyms" are also known as "Janus words". "Janus" was an ancient Roman god with two faces that looked in opposite directions, so you can see how he came to be associated with "contronyms". (You might be surprised to know that "Janus" is also connected to the month of "January".)

Another term for these words is "auto-antonym", or a word that means the opposite of itself. Technical terms for this phenomenon are "enantiosemy", "enantionymy", or "antilogy".

You’re likely familiar with many of these contronyms, even if you don’t realize it. So check out some of the most common ones, before you check out.

• cleave
• dust
• overlook
• sanction
• weather
• back up
• fine
• original
• pitted
• bound
• rent

fun-with-words.com
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), and "enantiodromes".

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.
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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.
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grammarly.com
10 Verbs that are contronyms

mentalfloss.com
14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites

Judith B Herman

Here’s an ambiguous sentence for you: “Because of the agency’s oversight, the corporation’s behavior was sanctioned.” Does that mean, 'Because the agency oversaw the company’s behavior, they imposed a penalty for some transgression' or does it mean, 'Because the agency was inattentive, they overlooked the misbehavior and gave it their approval by default'?

We’ve stumbled into the looking-glass world of "contronyms"—words that are their own antonyms.
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rinkworks.com
Contronyms

Contronyms

A "synonym" is a word that means the same as another. "Necessary" and "required" are synonyms. An "antonym" is a word that means the opposite of another. "Wet" and "dry" are antonyms. While synonyms and antonyms are not in themselves interesting, the complexities and irregularities of the English language sometimes make synonyms and antonyms interesting to explore. Many complexities result from words having multiple definitions. A trivial example is a word with synonyms that aren't synonyms of each other, the word "beam", for example, having the synonyms "bar" and "shine". Similarly, some words have antonyms that are neither synonyms nor antonyms of each other but completely unrelated: the word "right", for example, having the antonyms "wrong" and "left".

A more interesting paradox occurs with the word "groom", which does not really have an antonym in the strictest sense but has an opposite of sorts in the word "bride", which can be used as a prefix to create a synonym, "bridegroom."

The word "contronym" (also "antagonym") is used to refer to words that, by some freak of language evolution, are their own antonyms. Both "contronym" and "antagonym" are neologisms; however, there is no alternative term that is more established in the English language.

Contronyms are special cases of homographs (two words with the same spelling).
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Start (W3)

Uni Michigan - Anta
Antagonyms: words with contradictory meanings

Antagonyms

Page revised on January 1, 1999

This is a word I made up to describe a single word that has meanings that contradict each other. My derivation of the word antagonyms is described below.

Example of an Antagonym:

A current example would be "BAD". There is the normal meaning and the slang meaning of "good" (sometimes pronounced baad for emphasis). Although I prefer words in which the antithetical definitions are listed in common dictionaries, I will accept well-known slang examples.

As pointed out by Rex Stocklin (in list of acknowledgments below, see {T}), a number of antagonyms result from use of the prefix "re-". The meaning "again" may conflict with other meanings. We will continue to add these words to the list as we receive them.

The (numbers) below indicate my reference sources; the {letters} acknowledge contributors. Both are listed after the following sections.

Antagonyms

• Anabasis: A military advance vs. A military retreat (3) {C}
• Anon : Immediately [Archaic] or soon vs. Later (3) {M}
• Anxious: Full of mental distress because of apprehension of danger or misfortune [in effect, seeking to avoid] (We were anxious about the nearby gunshots.) vs. Eager or looking forward to (Until you returned, I was anxious to see you.) (1)
• Apparent: Not clear or certain (For now, he is the apparent winner of the contest.) vs. Obvious (The solution to the problem was apparent to all.) (1) {I}
• Assume: To actually have (To assume office) vs. To hope to have ("He assumed he would be elected.") (3) {M}
• Avocation: A hobby vs. a regular occupation [and one could say it's a triple antagonym if you agree that the archaic meaning of "a distraction" is the opposite of working (even at a hobby) and if you agree that the obsolete meaning of "a calling away" takes you away from (the opposite of participating in) your hobbies, work, and even your distractions!] (1)
• Awful: Extremely unpleasant, ugly vs. Awe-inspiring [typically, a feeling of admiration] (1)
• Bad: See above
• Bound: Moving ("I was bound for Chicago") vs. Unable to move ("I was bound to a post", or less literally, "I was bound to my desk") (3) {S}
• Buckle: to hold together (e.g. buckle your belt) vs. to fall apart (e.g., buckle under pressure) {AQ}
• Bull: A solemn edict or mandate vs. Nonsense or worthless information (3) {M}
• Chuff: Elated vs. Unhappy (hinted at in 1) {M}
• Cite, Citation: For doing good (such as military gallantry) vs. for doing bad (such as from a traffic policeman) (1)
• Cleave: To adhere tightly vs. To cut apart (1) {A}
• Clip: to attach vs. to cut off (1) {AH}{AS}
• Cool: positive sense (cool web-sites) vs. negative sense(cool reception). {AA}
• Comprise: To contain entirely vs. To be included in ("The United States comprises 50 states"; "The 50 states comprise the United States") [Some will argue with both uses, including me; however, both uses have become commonplace and some sources list both without comment.] (1) {U}
• Counterfeit: [Archaic] a legitimate copy vs. a copy meant to deceive{Y}
• Cut: get in (as in line or queue) vs. get out (as in a school class) {T}
• Dust: To remove dust vs. To apply dust (as in fingerprinting) {H}
• Effectively: in effect (doing the equivalent of the action but not the real thing) vs. with effect (doing the action and doing it well) [Contrast "he is effectively lying" (colloquial?) with "he is lying effectively"] {AD}
• Enjoin: To order someone to do something vs. To stop someone from doing something [such as in law by an injunction] (1) {D}
• Fast: Moving rapidly vs. Unable to move ("I was held fast to my bed.") (3) {S}
• Fix: to restore to function (fixing the refrigerator) vs. to make non-functional (fixing the dog) {AZ}
• Fearful: Causing fear vs. Being afraid (1) {A}
• Goods: [Slang] good things vs. bad things ("I have the goods from the warehouse robbery, but I'm worried the police have the goods on me.") {T}
• Hysterical: Being overwhelmed with fear [in some cases] vs. Being funny (1)
• Incorporate: When a village is incorporated, it is formed, but when it is incorporated into a city, the village is destroyed {O}
• Inflammable [a pseudo-antagonym!]: Burns easily vs. [the incorrect assumption by many that the prefix in- makes it mean:] Does not burn [Only the first definition is correct; the risk of confusion has removed this word from gasoline trucks!] (4) {J}
• Last: Just prior vs. final (My last book will be my last publication) {Y}
• Lease, Let, Rent: [in essence] To loan out for money vs. To "borrow" for money (1) {K}
• Left: To remain vs. to have gone (Of all who came, only Fred's left. [Does it mean he's the only one who still remains or that he's the first to depart?]) {AB}
• Let: [Archaic] To hinder vs. To allow (1) {K}
• License: Liberty or permission to do something vs. Undue or excessive freedom or liberty (1) {K}
• Literally: Precisely vs. often corruptly used to mean "figuratively" (As in: "There were literally millions of people at that party."). Our correspondent writes: Many people think this is an error, albeit a common one; but I think "Literally millions of people" isn't so much error as a form of hyperbole; the trouble is that the literal meaning of "literally" is, among other things, "not hyperbolically." {AF}
• Livid: Pale, ashen vs. dark gray-blue (and sometimes corrupted to mean bright red!) (1) {AW}
• Mad: carried away by enthusiasm or desire vs. carried away by hatred or anger (3) {AK}
• Moot: [a slight stretch here] A moot point is one that is debatable, yet is also of no significance or has been previously decided, so why debate it? (1) {K}
• Overlook: to pay attention to, to inspect ("We had time to overlook the contract.") vs. to ignore (1) {AN}
• Oversight: Watchful and responsible care vs. An omission or error due to carelessness (1) {E}
• Peruse: Read in a casual way, skim (To peruse the Sunday paper) vs. to read with great attention to detail or to study carefully (To peruse a report on financial conditions). {AR}
• Policy: Required activity without exception (University policy) vs. An optional course of action (our government's policy regarding the economy) {K}
• Populate: To decimate the population (obsolete use) vs. to increase the population {AP}
• Practiced: Experienced, expert (I am practiced in my work) vs. Inexperienced effort (The child practiced coloring.) (1)
• Prescribe: To lay down a rule vs. To become unenforceable (3) {D}
• Presently: Now vs. after some time {BB}
• Quite: Completely vs. Not completely (e.g., quite empty [totally empty]; quite full [not completely full, just nearly so]) (3) {M}
• Ravel: to disentangle or unravel vs. to tangle or entangle (1) {X}
• Recover: hide away (cover again) vs. bring out [hyphenated] (The dinosaur bones were exposed by the flood but then re-covered with dirt, hiding them again; centuries later, the paleontologists recovered them by removing the dirt.) {T}
• Refrain: In song, meaning to repeat a certain part vs. To stop (Please refrain from using bad language) {AO}
• Release: let go vs. hold on (lease the property again) [hyphenated as re-lease] {T}
• Replace: Take away (replace the worn carpet) vs. Put back (replace the papers in the file) {T}
• Repress: hold back vs. put forth (press again) [hyphenated] {T}
• Reprove: rebuke (reprove a colleague's work) vs. support (re-prove a scientist's theory) {T}
• Reservation: what you make when you know where you want to go vs. what you have when you're not sure if you want to go
• Reside: to stay put vs. [Slang] to change places (change teams) [hyphenated as re-side] [N.B.: This is also a heteronym!] {T}
• Resign: to quit a contract vs. to sign the contract again [hyphenated as re-sign] {T} [N.B.: This is also a heteronym!]
• Restive: refusing to move (forward) (a restive horse) vs. Restless (moving around) (1) {M}
• Restore [in the following use]: The painting was said to be a fake, so the museum re-stored it in the warehouse. When it was later found to be real, the museum restored it to its place in the gallery. {T}
• Riot: Violent disorder vs. Revelry {Consider what is meant when one says, "It was a riot!") (1)
• Rival: An opponent vs. (Archaic) A companion or associate (3) {O}
• Rocky: Firm, steadfast vs. tending to sway (e.g., a rocky shelf) {S}
• Root: To establish (The seed took root.) vs. To remove entirely (usually used with "out", e.g., to root out dissenters) {AG}
• Sanction: Support for an action (They sanctioned our efforts.) vs. A penalty for an action (The Congressman was sanctioned for inappropriate behavior.) (1) {D} {O}
• Sanguine: (Now poetic) Causing or delighting in bloodshed [according to contributor, also describes a person worked up into a bloody rage] vs. A person hopeful or confident of success [essentially someone calm about something] (2) {B}
• Scan: to examine closely vs. to look over hastily (1) {S} {AI}
• Screwed: [Slang, vulgar] Had a good experience (We screwed around all night.) vs. To have a bad experience (I was screwed by that cheater.) {T}
• Secreted: Having put out, released vs. Placed out of sight (1) [N.B.: This word is also a heteronym!]
• Shank: (Informal) The early part of a period of time (It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.) vs. (Informal) The latter part of a period of time (It was the shank of the evening when the party ended.) (1)
• Shop: To search with the intent to buy ("I shopped for a book at several stores.") vs. To search with the intent to sell ("I shopped my manuscript to several publishers.") {R}
• Sick: unpleasant (A sick joke) vs. wonderful (Slang: That sportscar is really sick!) {AE}
• Skin: to cover with a skin vs. to remove outer covering or skin (1) {I} {P}
• Strike out: An ending, as in "The batter struck out." vs. A beginning, as in "I thought it was time to strike out on my own." (1) {L} Also, a strike in bowling occurs when there is complete contact between ball and wood (of the pins), whereas a strike in baseball occurs when there is complete absence of contact between ball and wood (of the bat). {W} Also, to strike causes stoppage of work whereas in the theater to strike is to work on the set, lighting, etc. {AX}
• Terrific: (Informal) Extraordinarily good vs. Causing terror (1)
• Transparent: Easily seen ("His motives were transparent.") invisible {AL}
• Trim: To add things to (trim a Christmas tree) vs. or take pieces off (trim hair) {AT}{AU}

Antagonistic phrases, usually informal
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Was it an oversight?

No, we never knew that "antagonyms" have previously been called "contronyms" until Mark Israel emailed us. Apparently the term "contronyms" was coined by Richard Lederer in Crazy English (Pocket Books, 1989, ISBN 0-671-68907-X). Mark has listed several dozen contronyms in the alt.usage.english FAQ (or link to it). We're proud to say we have some he didn't have!
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voanews.com
One Word, Two Opposite Meanings
Terms That Janus Would Have Loved

February 02, 2015

One Word, Two Opposite Meanings: Terms That Janus Would Have Loved

I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: "two-faced words", also known as "Janus words" — after the Roman god with two faces looking in opposite directions — or contronyms.

RS: We are talking about a word that has developed two opposite meanings, explains linguist and author Richard Lederer.

RICHARD LEDERER: "We know that words over time, almost all words, especially nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, develop different meanings. And we have some words that have more than a hundred meanings. But "contronyms" develop opposite meanings. Take the word "out": just a three-letter word; sometimes an adverb, sometimes a preposition or a particle. When the sun is out, you can see it; when the lights are out, then you can't see them. So it is both visible and invisible."
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• "fast"
• "bolt"
• "moot"
• "dust"
• "sanction"
• "Janus Words"
• "awful"
• "artificial"
• "amusing"
• "contronyms"
• "poke your head"
• "out"
• "with"
• "clip"
• "fast"
• "bolt"
• "trim"
• "dust"
• "weather"
• "commencement"
• "hold up"
• "keep up"
• "left"
• "dress"
• "temper"
• "cleave"
• "give out"
• "sanction"
• "screen"
• "oversight"
• "qualified"
• "moot"
• "certain"
• "mortal"
• "burn"
• "buckle"
• "trip"
• "put out"
• "unbending"
• "wear"
• "scan"
• "fix"
• "seeded"
• "critical"
• "think better"
• "take"
• "impregnable"
• "wind up"