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by Gabe Alexander on January 5th, 2005

Gabe Alexander

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What are some words that have multiple, opposite meanings?

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Answers. 7 helpful answers below.

  • by lynnenorth on January 6th, 2006

    lynnenorth

    The type of word you're looking for is variously called contronyms, self-antonyms, autoantonyms, antagonyms, or "Janus words" (from the Roman god who looked in two directions at once). A few more examples, in no particular order:

    Fast: either moving speedily, or stuck down ("The crates were made fast to the deck as the storm picked up.")

    Cleave: either split apart, or hold strongly together ("The wife should cleave to her husband, and husband cleave to his wife.")

    Enjoin: either to direct or order, to prescribe ("The Bible enjoins us to honor our parents."), or to prohibit, or forbid ("The judge sent down a ruling enjoining strikes or boycotts against public services.")

    Alight: to settle onto ("It's possible for multiple people to alight on the same answers independently."), or to dismount from ("She graciously took his hand to alight from the carriage.")

    Dust: to clear fine particles away, or to sprinkle fine particles on ("She lightly dusted the cake with sugar.")

    Cork: to insert a cork, or take out a cork.

    Trim: to cut away ("You need to trim your hair."), or to add decoration ("They trimmed the tree with a tinsel and glass ornaments.")

    Garnish: to enhance ("I garnish the puddings with orange slices to make them look better."), or to curtail ("They'll garnish his wages for years to pay back that debt.")

    Weather: to withstand ("That tree has weathered many storms, and never lost a branch."), or to wear away ("You can see how years of high wind have weathered the rocks into fantastic shapes.")

    Sanction: to support, approve ("He sanctioned the charity's use of his name."), or to boycott or impose a penalty ("The ruling council decided to sanction the firm for misconduct.")

    And my favorite--
    Quiddity: the essence or true nature of a thing ("Reaction, not foresight, is the quiddity of evolution."), or a trivial, quibbling point ("You're evading the argument by bringing up endless quiddities!")

    This is by no means a complete or definitive list.

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  • by Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog on January 6th, 2006

    Grandma Roses - my avatar is my real dog

    Also
    'Citation' either 'In primarily US law, a citation, also known as a ticket, is a notification that one has committed a minor legal infraction, for which a fine must be paid and/or and an appearance in court has to be made (see also summons)' or 'an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement'. You were either 'a good boy' or 'a bad boy'.

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  • by Aminor on June 9th, 2005

    Aminor

    I've read repeatedly that "flammable" was created in relatively modern times to avoid confusion with "inflammable," which looks deceptive because of the negating "in-". And indeed inflammable is older, 1605 according to the OED. And yet flammable has quotations from 1813 and 1867, but only those two. There was never a time when anyone associated with dirigibles wasn't keenly aware of the risks of hydrogen.

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  • by Too Much Time On My Hands on April 26th, 2005

    Too Much Time On My Hands

    The word "inflammable" also comes to mind. I'm not sure if the dictionary authorities will ascribe multiple meanings to it, but history and common usage have. I believe the reason for the confusion has something to do with hydrogen being labeled "inflammable air" and then, after the Hindenberg explosion, people realized that they had been mistaken and hydrogen was actually flammable. But the name "inflammable air" had stuck and people started using the word "inflammable" to mean both "flammable" and "inflammable." If that makes sense... anyway, I repeat that this might not be a dictionary-proof answer, but it is a usage that has been noted at a certain point in time.

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  • by givogiguy on March 2nd, 2005

    givogiguy

    "Anon" may be one of those words. It can mean "immediately", "in a short while", and "Not for a long time". Though I have not looked it up recently.

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  • by TERRYTUKER on January 27th, 2008

    TERRYTUKER

    progress, congress

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  • by royal77 says hello friend on January 27th, 2008

    royal77 says hello friend

    flammable, inflammable.

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