Contronym Facts for Kids

In English, "inflammable" means "combustible", but can be taken to mean "non-flammable" by people who wrongly treat the "in-" as meaning "not", so English safety labels typically use "flammable"

A contronym is a word with two meanings. These two meanings are the opposites of each other.

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, extinguishs fires.

The steam locomotive's fireman shovelled coal into the firebox, The fireman used a hose to spray water to put out the fire.

Go - To proceed or succeed, or to weaken or fail

she had to go home, the rope had let go

Literally - actually, or virtually

there were literally 20,000 people at the concert, I literally had no time to do that assignment

left - remaining, departed from

After taking an apple, there were two left, He opened the door and left

moot - open to debate, settled beyond debate

The car's value is moot, Your dating that boy is moot

off - off, on

He turned the lights off, When the window broke, the alarm went off

rent - buy use of, sell use of

He rented a room to make extra money, She was looking for a house to rent

table - to place on the agenda for consideration, to remove from consideration

She plans to table the motion at the next meeting, The issue has been tabled indefinitely

transparent - invisible, obvious

The glass was transparent, His motives were transparent

sanction - bless, punish

The priest sanctioned the marriage, The US government sanctioned Cuba

seed - to plant seeds, to remove seeds

The children seeded the ground with pumpkin seeds, They seeded the watermelon before they served it

stem - to provide with a stem, to remove the stem of

The glasses are being stemmed, He stemmed the pears

variety - one type, many types

Granny Smith is a variety of apple, The store sells a variety of produce

virago - loud overbearing woman, woman of stature and strength

My mother-in-law is such a virago, My mother is such a virago

weather - to wear away, to withstand

his skin was weathered, the boat weathered the storm well

Contronym facts for kids

See also