Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
15 Mar 2003 18:42 PST
spracky --
Oops. Sorry for prematurely pushing the "answer button. Here is my
complete answer.
The term for the kind of words you are seeking is "contranym" or
"contronym." Here is an interesting list compiled by someone
interested in this subject:
bolt - to make secure and to leave precipitously
buckle - tomake solid and to become weak
certain - definite and vague
cleave - to separate and to join
clip - to fasten together and to cut apart
commencement - to start and to finish
critical - to be against and to be essential to
dispense - to provide and to get rid of
dust - to spread over and to remove from
handicap - an advantage and a disadvantage
impregnable - unpenetrateable and able to be penetrated
inflammable - combustibleand not combustible
let - to allow and to hinder
limit - to include and to exclude
moot - debatable and not worth debating
off - to start and to finish.
out - unseeable and seeable.
overlook - to ignore and to look over
oversight - to look after and to not see
qualified - competent and limited
resign - to leave and to rejoin
sanction - to approve and to punish
scan - to examine thoroughly or cursorily
screen - to show and to hide
secrete - to hide and to come out of
stem - to originate from, and to stop
strike - to hit into place, and to remove from place
temper - to soften and to harden
trim - to add onto and to cut from
trip - to stumble and to move with agility
unbending - to be rigid and to become loose
wear - to last and to disintegrate
weather - to endure and to wear away
Contranyms
http://ccins.camosun.bc.ca/~peterm/venus/contranyms.html
Here is a syndicated radio feature that deals with the subject:
Merriam-Webster: Word For The Wise
http://www.m-w.com/wftw/02dec/121302.htm
And here's another list, which only partially overlaps the first list:
anabasis - military advance, military retreat
aught - all, nothing
bolt - secure, run away
buckle - fasten, fall apart
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
mean - average, excellent (e.g., "plays a mean game")
out - visible (e.g., stars), invisible (e.g., lights)
out of - outside, inside (e.g., "work out of one's home")
oversight - error, care
put out - extinguish, generate (e.g., something putting out light)
quiddity - essence, trifling point
quite - rather, completely
rent - buy use of, sell use of
rinky-dink - insignificant, one who frequents RinkWorks
sanguine - hopeful, murderous (obsolete synonym for "sanguinary")
screen - show, hide
strike - hit, miss (in baseball)
table - propose (in the United Kingdom), set aside (in the United
States)
transparent - invisible, obvious
unbending - rigid, relaxing
wear - endure through use, decay through use
weather - withstand, wear away
wind up - end, start up (e.g., a watch)
with - alongside, against
Fun With Words:Contronyms
http://rinkworks.com/words/contronyms.shtml
Other examples can be found by using the following Google search terms
and browsing the results:
contramyms
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=contranyms
contronyms
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=contronyms&spell=1
This is an interesting subject. Please let me know if any of the
information needs clarification or if any of the links don't function.
markj-ga
