Difference between revisions 5906428 and 5965653 on simplewiki

A '''contronym''' is a word with two meanings. These two meanings are the opposites of each other. The meaning is got by its [[context (language)|context]] in the [[sentence]].

;Examples:

*bolt: secure, run away
:''He bolted the door'', ''When he got scared, he bolted''
*cleave - split, adhere
:''The bow of the boat cleaved the water cleanly'',''He cleaved to his principles in spite of persecution''
*clip:  fasten, detach
:''He clipped the pin to his shirt'', ''She used scissors to clip her hair''
*constrained - forced into a certain path or action, prohibited from certain paths or actions
: ''To please my spouse, I am constrained to hire my brother-in-law'', ''To avoid nepotism, I am constrained to hire my brother-in-law''
*consult: seek information, refer information to
:''They consulted us about best practices," "They consulted us with best practices"
*dust - remove particles, lay down particles
:''He dusted the picture frames'', ''She dusted the cookies with powdered sugar''
*execute - to start or begin, to kill or finish
:''We will execute our plan at midnight'', ''The traitor was executed at dawn''
*fast - quick, unmoving
:''He ran very fast'', ''He pulled on the rope, but it held fast''
*fireman - makes fires, extinguishes fires.
:''The steam locomotive's fireman shovelled coal into the firebox'', ''The fireman used a hose to spray water to put out the fire.''
*fix - restore, castrate
:''He fixed the broken table'', ''They had their puppy fixed''
*left - remaining, departed from
:''After taking an apple, there were two left'', ''He opened the door and left''
(contracted; show full)
== Other websites ==
* [https://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-contronyms-words-with-contradictory-meanings/ 75 Contronyms] - one of the largest lists online


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[[Category:Words]]