Maybe I’m just an information-stunted writer, but here’s a new word for me. Maybe for you, too?
Contronym.
(BTW, it was new to the dictionary here at TKZ, too . . . I had to add it.) But I digress.
Fun, huh?
What’s a contronym, you ask. It’s those words common to the English language that “can have opposite or contradictory meanings”. I found a website with a list of 75 contronyms. And there’s a slew of other websites you can check out if you’re feeling a bit contradictory this beautiful Friday.
I took the liberty of downloading this quick list for you, just to give you an idea of how these words “work”. (I hope you can read it.)
One of the cautions noted on this website is that, as an author, if we use one of these special words in our writing we must be clear in the context which meaning should be applied. It could get a bit confusing, right?
For instance, consider the word “aught”. If your character slams his fist down on the desk and yells, “Aught was paid!” the reader will deduce nothing was paid. Without the slamming and yelling or other contextual details, your reader won’t know if all was paid or nothing was paid.
TKZers, have you ever heard of contronyms? And can you come up with your own? (Maybe after your second or third cuppa joe?)
Got one that I’ve noticed recently:
“Wind and Truth signed and numbered bundle has dropped! “ “Dropped,” in this sense, means the book has been released.
“JD Vance’s Book Dropped by German Publisher.” Here, “dropped” means the book will not be released.
Good morning, J.
Good example. Hadn’t thought of “dropped” in the publishing world.
Have a great Friday!
This reminds me of the Amelia Bedelia books I read to my kids. While not necessarily contronyms, they played up the multiple meanings of words. I remember “draw the drapes” and “dust the furniture.”
Hi Terry!
Good examples. Thinking of the word “dust”: Dust the furniture, to remove the dust. Dust powdered sugar on the cookies, add.
Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a great weekend!
The first words that came to mind were raze and raise — a pair of homophones with opposite meanings.
Hi Michelle!
Homophones are fun, too. English is a fun language, full of twists and turns, isn’t it? I’d never heard of contronyms before, and if you’d told me that one word could have opposite meanings, I’d have said no way!
I’m grateful I didn’t have to learn it as a second language.
Have a great day!
Great list, Deb. And thanks for giving me a new word for my vocabulary.
I couldn’t think of a new one, but here’s a contronym in reverse: words that appear to be opposites, but mean the same thing. Flammable and inflammable.
Hi Kay!
You know, I’ve always been confused about flammable and inflammable. Why do they mean the same? Capable and incapable don’t. Another example of the uniqueness of our language, I guess, plus . . . it gives us something to talk about here at TKZ–ha!
Thanks for contributing to the contrariness today, and have a great weekend. 🙂
In industry publications, inflammable has been banned to avoid confuzzlement.
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