Auto-antonym facts for kids

An auto-antonym is a special kind of word. It has two or more meanings, and one meaning is the exact opposite of another. Think of it like a word that can mean "yes" and "no" at the same time, depending on how you use it!

For example, the word cleave can mean "to cut something apart" or "to stick things together." This cool trick words do is called enantiosemy or autantonymy. The word "enantio-" means "opposite," which makes sense!

What Are Auto-Antonyms Called?

Auto-antonyms have many names! People also call them:

• Antagonyms
• Contronyms
• Janus words (like the Roman god Janus, who had two faces looking in opposite directions)
• Self-antonyms
• Antilogy

How Do Words Become Auto-Antonyms?

Words can become auto-antonyms in a few ways:

Words That Sound Alike

Sometimes, two completely different words that used to be spelled and pronounced differently end up looking and sounding the same over time.

• For example, the word cleave meaning "to separate" comes from an old English word clēofan.
• But cleave meaning "to stick" comes from a different old English word clifian.
• They became the same word by chance!

One Word, Opposite Meanings

More often, a single word slowly gains new meanings that eventually become opposites.

• The word sanction can mean "to allow or approve something." But it can also mean "to punish someone."
• Bolt can mean "to run away quickly" or "to fasten something tightly in place."
• Fast can mean "moving very quickly" or "stuck firmly in place."

Some words become auto-antonyms when we use them as verbs. For example, if you dust a room, you remove dust. But if you dust a cake with powdered sugar, you add dust! The same happens with seed (remove seeds or add seeds) and stone (remove stones or add stones).

Over hundreds of years, the meaning of words can change a lot.

• King Charles II once described St Paul's Cathedral as "awful, pompous, and artificial."
• Back then, "awful" meant "awe-inspiring," "pompous" meant "majestic," and "artificial" meant "cleverly designed."
• So, he was actually saying it was amazing, not bad!

Even the word literally has changed. It means "exactly as stated." But people often use it to mean "figuratively" or "very much," like "I'm literally starving" when they are just very hungry.

Sometimes, words that usually mean something negative can be used to mean something positive, but in a cool or ironic way.

• For example, saying "that outfit is bad as hell" means the outfit is really good.
• Or "lyrics full of sick burns" means the lyrics are very impressive.

Differences in English

Words can also be auto-antonyms because they mean different things in different parts of the world.

• In British English, to table a bill means "to bring it up for discussion."
• But in American English, to table a bill means "to postpone discussing it."
• To barrack in Australian English means "to cheer loudly for a team."
• In British English, to barrack means "to shout insults or disapproval."

Words with Blended Meanings

Some words mix two opposite ideas together. These are not always called auto-antonyms, but they are similar.

• Coopetition blends "cooperation" and "competition."
• Frenemy blends "friend" and "enemy."

Auto-Antonyms in Other Languages

Many languages have auto-antonyms too!

• In Latin, the word sacer could mean "sacred" (holy) or "accursed" (bad).
• The Greek word demiurgos led to the English word demiurge. It can mean God as the creator, or it can mean the devil, depending on the idea.

Sometimes, a word describes an action where two things happen at once.

• In Latin, hospes means both "guest" and "host." This makes sense because you can't have a guest without a host!
• In some types of English, borrow can mean "to borrow" or "to lend." This is because when someone borrows, someone else is lending.

Examples of Auto-Antonyms

English Examples

• Cleave: "to stick together" or "to split apart."
• Clip: "to attach" (like a paper clip) or "to cut off" (like clipping your nails).
• Dust: "to remove dust" (cleaning a room) or "to add dust" (dusting a cake with sugar).
• Fast: "not moving" (holding fast) or "moving quickly."
• Obbligato (in music): a part that is "required" or "optional."
• Oversight: "a mistake because you forgot something" or "careful watching and control."
• Peruse: "to read carefully" or "to read quickly."
• Ravel: "to separate threads" or "to tangle threads."
• Sanction: "to approve" or "to punish."
• Table: "to discuss a topic" (British English) or "to postpone discussion" (American English).

Other Languages Examples

Nouns

• The Korean word ap can mean "future" or "past." You know which one by the rest of the sentence.

Verbs

• Many verbs in languages like German, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Finnish, and Esperanto can mean both "to lend" and "to borrow." The sentence shows who is doing what.
• In Romanian, French, Finnish, and Spanish, verbs like a închiria or louer mean both "to rent" (as the person paying) and "to let" (as the person owning).
• The Swahili verb kutoa means both "to remove" and "to add."
• The Persian verb čidan means both "to pluck" (like a flower) and "to arrange" (like setting a table).
• In Spanish, dar (meaning "to give") can mean "to teach," "to take classes," or "to recite," depending on the context.
• The French verb apprendre usually means "to learn," but it can also mean "to teach someone."
• The Indonesian verbs menghiraukan and mengacuhkan can mean "to pay attention to" or "to ignore."

Adverbs

• In Hindi and Urdu, kal can mean "yesterday" or "tomorrow." The verb in the sentence tells you which one.
• In Irish, ar ball can mean "a while ago" or "later on."

Agent Nouns

• In Italian, Spanish, and French, words like ospite, huésped, and hôte can mean "host" or "guest." They all come from the Latin word hospes, which also had both meanings.

Adjectives

• The Latin word sinister meant "left." It also meant "lucky" or "unlucky" depending on the Roman or Greek beliefs about signs. The "unlucky" meaning carried into English.
• Latin nimius meant "too much." In Spanish, nimio still means "too much," but it also came to mean "insignificant" (not important).
• In Vietnamese, minh can mean "bright, clear" or "dead, gloomy."

In Translation

Sometimes, words seem like auto-antonyms when translated, but their main meaning is something else.

• In Hawaiian, aloha is translated as "hello" and "goodbye." But its main meaning is "love." So, you're saying "love" whether you're greeting someone or saying farewell.
• The Italian greeting ciao is translated as "hello" or "goodbye." Its original meaning was "I am your servant."

See Also

In Spanish: Enantiosemía para niños

• Skunked term
• -onym
• Oxymoron
• Īhām