One of my favorite aspects of writing is simply engaging with the English language. There are many fascinating (and weird) aspects to English that appeal to me as they become tools to help shape a narrative.
Though synonyms and antonyms are standard tools in the writer’s toolkit, I enjoy exploring more exotic variations like homonyms (words that sound alike but with different spellings and definitions) to subtly shift a meaning, metonyms (words that are used as a substitute for something closely related to it) to provide variety, and heteronyms (words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently with different definitions) to throw expectations.
But one of my favorite types of words are contronyms, which are words that are spelled the same but have opposite meanings. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Have a nice trip?” right after a stumble, you’ve encountered a contronym as trip can mean either a successful journey or a short, unsuccessful one.
How weird is English that such words even exist! Not only do they exist, but there are dozens of common ones. Here are my favorites:
Bolt: Bolt can mean to secure in place or to flee. I tried to bolt away, but they bolted me in place.
Bound: Bound can mean going to a destination or being restrained from movement. I was bound for Carnegie Hall before being bound by thugs.
Buckle: Buckle can mean to either fasten/secure or break/collapse. You can buckle up before the bridge buckles and falls.
Cleave: Cleave can mean to separate or to unite. You can cleave a branch from a tree, or cleave to your friends if axe-wielding scares you.
Custom: Custom can either be a common practice or something unique. It’s a cultural custom for everyone to drive a custom car.
Consult: Consult can mean both to ask for professional advice and to provide professional advice. I consulted my attorney who consulted that I take the Fifth!
Dust: Dust can mean to lightly cover or to remove a light covering. I dusted the cookies with sugar after the housekeeper had dusted. What a mess.
Fast: Fast can mean to move rapidly or being fixed in place. They say to hold fast when attacked by a bear, but they sure move fast.
Finish: Finish can mean either to complete something or run out of/destroy something. I finished building the table but my nerves were finished.
Garnish: Garnish can mean either to add a little extra or to remove a little bit. I garnished the meat with rosemary, but the meal was more expensive since my wages were garnished.
Give out: Give out means both to provide something and to run out of something. I wanted to give out food until our supply gave out.
Hold up: Hold up can mean to provide support and to hinder. The hold up in funding threatened the repairs to hold up the bridge.
Left: Left can mean either to leave or to remain. Johnny left the party but there were three of us left.
Mean: Mean refers to both the average and to excellence. He threw a mean hook but his record was barely above the mean.
Model: A model can be a standout example or an ordinary copy. The clay model showed sweeping lines, a characteristic of that model of car.
Off: Off can mean both activated and deactivated. The alarm went off so we had to turn it off.
Out: Out can either mean visibly on display or darkened. There were many stars out last night, and we could see them with the lights out.
Overlook: Overlook can mean both to notice and to fail to notice. My brother overlooked the exit and drove on while we stopped at the amazing overlook.
Oversight: Oversight can mean either to monitor something, or forget to monitor something. An oversight in the process was not including constant oversight.
Quantum: Quantum can represent something either gigantic or minuscule. The resolution of quantum fluctuations in the processor helped drive the quantum advancement in computing technology.
Refrain: Refrain can either mean to stop doing something, or to do something over and over. Would you please refrain from continually playing the refrain?
Rock: Rock can be a solid, immovable stone or unstably shaking/moving back and forth. Our picnic table was on a large granite rock which caused it to rock with each bite.
Sanction: Sanction can mean both to permit and to penalize. The city sanctioned our parade, but sanctioned us for too many people.
Screen: Screen can mean either to present or to conceal. Our favorite movie was screened in Cannes but we were screened from peeking in and watching.
Strike: Strike can either mean to hit or to miss. Another wrong guess was strike two, and the contestant wanted to strike the announcer.
Temper: Temper can mean both to soften and to strengthen. I’m often told to temper my anger when working in the forge trying to temper a sword that keeps breaking.
Throw out: Throw out can mean either to discard something or to offer something. I’m going to throw out some ideas for dinner before you throw out all the leftovers.
Trim: Trim can mean both to add a little or to take a little away. We had to trim the tree branches to fit in the room before we trimmed the tree with ornaments and garlands.
Variety: A variety can be either a singular type or many types. With apples, I only like the Gala variety but my dad enjoys a variety.
Weather: Weather can mean either to endure or to wear away. We weathered the storm but it weathered our house.
Are there any other contronyms that should be included in the list? Let me know in the comments.
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