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A word that is its own antonym


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I am thinking of a word that has two opposite definitions. I know of one, and I wonder if anybody else knows another. The one I am thinking of is found in the Bible in the book of Genesis.

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[spoiler=who knew there were so many? (besides Google of course... wink.gif )]http://www.rinkworks...ontronyms.shtml

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

custom - usual, special

deceptively smart - smarter than one appears, dumber than one appears

dike - wall, ditch

discursive - proceeding coherently from topic to topic, moving aimlessly from topic to topic

dollop - a large amount, a small amount

dust - add fine particles, remove fine particles

enjoin - prescribe, prohibit

fast - quick, unmoving

first degree - most severe (e.g., murder), least severe (e.g., burn)

fix - restore, castrate

flog - criticize harshly, promote aggressively

garnish - enhance (e.g., food), curtail (e.g., wages)

give out - produce, stop production

grade - incline, level

handicap - advantage, disadvantage

help - assist, prevent (e.g., "I can't help it if...")

left - remaining, departed from

liege - sovereign lord, loyal subject

mean - average, excellent (e.g., "plays a mean game")

off - off, on (e.g., "the alarm went off") out - visible (e.g., stars), invisible (e.g., lights)

out of - outside, inside (e.g., "work out of one's home")

oversight - error, care

pitted - with the pit in, with the pit removed

put out - extinguish, generate (e.g., something putting out light)

quiddity - essence, trifling point

quite - rather, completely

ravel - tangle, disentangle

rent - buy use of, sell use of

rinky-dink - insignificant, one who frequents RinkWorks

sanction - approve, boycott

sanguine - hopeful, murderous (obsolete synonym for "sanguinary")

screen - show, hide

seed - add seeds (e.g., "to seed a field"), remove seeds (e.g., "to seed a tomato")

skinned - with the skin on, with the skin removed

strike - hit, miss (in baseball)

table - propose (in the United Kingdom), set aside (in the United States)

transparent - invisible, obvious

unbending - rigid, relaxing

variety - one type (e.g., "this variety"), many types (e.g., "a variety")

wear - endure through use, decay through use

weather - withstand, wear away

wind up - end, start up (e.g., a watch)

with - alongside, against

A lot of these are wrong. They are 'grasping at straws' to make them fit. In what situation does the word clip actually mean to unclip something? A possibility could be clip to put things together, but to clip as in to trim, but that isn't an antonym to be specific, it is more of an alternative use.

Here's another:

I predict that Tony Dungy will weigh his options for another year with the Colts and finally decide to resign.

Will he re-up for another season, or will he quit?

The correct words are resign (which is to step down) and re-sign. The hyphen is important.

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[spoiler=who knew there were so many? (besides Google of course... wink.gif )]http://www.rinkworks...ontronyms.shtml

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

custom - usual, special

deceptively smart - smarter than one appears, dumber than one appears

dike - wall, ditch

discursive - proceeding coherently from topic to topic, moving aimlessly from topic to topic

dollop - a large amount, a small amount

dust - add fine particles, remove fine particles

enjoin - prescribe, prohibit

fast - quick, unmoving

first degree - most severe (e.g., murder), least severe (e.g., burn)

fix - restore, castrate

flog - criticize harshly, promote aggressively

garnish - enhance (e.g., food), curtail (e.g., wages)

give out - produce, stop production

grade - incline, level

handicap - advantage, disadvantage

help - assist, prevent (e.g., "I can't help it if...")

left - remaining, departed from

liege - sovereign lord, loyal subject

mean - average, excellent (e.g., "plays a mean game")

off - off, on (e.g., "the alarm went off") out - visible (e.g., stars), invisible (e.g., lights)

out of - outside, inside (e.g., "work out of one's home")

oversight - error, care

pitted - with the pit in, with the pit removed

put out - extinguish, generate (e.g., something putting out light)

quiddity - essence, trifling point

quite - rather, completely

ravel - tangle, disentangle

rent - buy use of, sell use of

rinky-dink - insignificant, one who frequents RinkWorks

sanction - approve, boycott

sanguine - hopeful, murderous (obsolete synonym for "sanguinary")

screen - show, hide

seed - add seeds (e.g., "to seed a field"), remove seeds (e.g., "to seed a tomato")

skinned - with the skin on, with the skin removed

strike - hit, miss (in baseball)

table - propose (in the United Kingdom), set aside (in the United States)

transparent - invisible, obvious

unbending - rigid, relaxing

variety - one type (e.g., "this variety"), many types (e.g., "a variety")

wear - endure through use, decay through use

weather - withstand, wear away

wind up - end, start up (e.g., a watch)

with - alongside, against

Most of those have obvious meanings in context

What about expressions that are their own antonyms? The meaning of the phrase "you don't say!" is explained as follows in the "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English" (2006 edition): used to show you are surprised by what someone has told you - also often used when you are not at all surprised by what someone has told you.

But that is sarcasm, it's different from an expression with 2 opposite meanings.

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