Contronyms in English
(Also Called Contranyms or Auto-antonyms)
There are many interesting words in English. A contronym is any word with multiple meanings in which one meaning is the reverse of another meaning. A contronym is its own antonym. How about that?
For example, the word dust can mean to remove dust OR its opposite => to cover in dust!
That's why contranyms are also called auto-antonyms (auto = of yourself + antonyms = a word that means the opposite of another word).
To help you understand contronyms, let’s
first review some other interesting types
of words in English.
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Synonyms and Antonyms
A synonym
is a word that has the same meaning as another word.
Example:
happy and cheerful
There are many synonyms in English!
An antonym
is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word.
Example:
happy and sad
Not all English words have antonyms.
Homophones and Homographs
Homophones
are two or more words that have the same sound, but different
meanings.Example: too, two, to
- Mrs. Jones is Cindy's teacher. She is my teacher too.
- I have two
bears.
- She drove to
the store yesterday.
Homographs
are words that are spelled the same, but have different
meanings (and are not always pronounced the same).
Example: row
(noun)
vs row (verb)
- Row (noun): The desks were lined up in a row.
- Row (verb): I will row
the boat to the shore.
Contronyms
A contronym (also spelled contranym) is a special type of homograph that can be its own antonym. Contronyms are also sometimes called auto-antonyms.
A contronym
has reverse meanings depending on the context. When you use
these words, make sure the context is clear, so the meaning is correct.
Let’s look at some
examples:
bolt
=> (verb) to secure / to flee
- meaning 1:
to secure
The man bolted the sink to the wall.
- meaning 2:
to flee
The boy saw the bats and bolted out of the cave.
- meaning 1:
deactivated
Push the red button to turn the alarm off (deactivate it).
- meaning 2:
activated
The alarm went off at 6:40 a.m. (The alarm activated.)
- meaning 1:
to purchase use of something
I am renting this apartment for one year. (I pay to live here.)
- meaning 2:
to sell use of something
I rent my cabin to tourists during the winter months. (Other people pay money to stay here.)
- meaning 1:
to hit
The orange car struck the green car. (The orange car hit the green car.)
The earthquake struck the city. (There was an earthquake in the city.)
- meaning 2:
to miss an attempt to hit
A strike in baseball is when a batter swings and misses the ball. Then the umpire says, "Strike one!"
Here are some more English contronyms for you to study:
- backup
=> to retreat / to give support
- bill
=> a payment / an invoice for payment
- bound
=> fastened to a spot / heading to a new place
- buckle =>
to secure / to collapse
- clip
=> to fasten / to detach
- dust
=> to remove dust / to cover in dust
- fearful
=> causing fear / to be full of fear
- fix
=> to repair / to castrate
- garnish
=> to add to (as with food) / to take away (as with money)
- handicap
=> an advantage (as in sports) / a disadvantage
- lease
=> to lend / to borrow
- left
=> remaining / departed
- pitted
=> having pits / having pits removed
- seed
=> to add seeds / to remove seeds
- skin
=> to cover with skin / to remove skin
- trim
=> to decorate (as with a Christmas Tree) / to remove excess
- wear
=> to deteriorate or erode / to withstand or endure
- weather =>
to withstand / to wear away
- wicked
=> evil / very good (slang)
There are many more contronyms
in English, but these are some of the most common. If you are not sure
about the meaning of a word, you can always check a dictionary!
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