{"id":3337,"date":"2013-04-03T14:36:21","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T19:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/?p=3337"},"modified":"2021-11-27T22:10:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-28T03:10:14","slug":"just-so-you-know-14-words-that-are-their-own-opposites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/03\/just-so-you-know-14-words-that-are-their-own-opposites\/","title":{"rendered":"Just so you know: 14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Sanction<\/strong> (via French, from Latin sanctio(n-)<\/em>, from sancire<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcratify,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122) can mean \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcgive official permission or approval for (an action)\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or conversely, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcimpose a penalty on.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122
\n*
\n2. Oversight<\/strong> is the noun form of two verbs with contrary meanings, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153oversee\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153overlook.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oversee,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from Old English ofers\u00c4\u201con<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclook at from above,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsupervise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (medieval Latin for the same thing: super-<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcover\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 + videre<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto see.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122) \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Overlook\u00e2\u20ac\u009d usually means the opposite: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto fail to see or observe; to pass over without noticing; to disregard, ignore.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122
\n*
\n3. Left<\/strong> can mean either remaining or departed. If the gentlemen have withdrawn to the drawing room for after-dinner cigars, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s left? (The gentlemen have left and the ladies are left.)
\n*
\n4. Dust<\/strong>, along with the next two words, is a noun turned into a verb meaning either to add or to remove the thing in question. Only the context will tell you which it is. When you dust are you applying dust or removing it? It depends whether you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dusting the crops or the furniture.
\n*
\n5. Seed<\/strong> can also go either way. If you seed the lawn you add seeds, but if you seed a tomato you remove them.
\n*
\n6. Stone<\/strong> is another verb to use with caution. You can stone some peaches, but please don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stone your neighbor (even if he says he likes to get stoned).
\n*
\n7. Trim<\/strong> as a verb predates the noun, but it can also mean either adding or taking away. Arising from an Old English word meaning \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto make firm or strong; to settle, arrange,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153trim\u00e2\u20ac\u009d came to mean \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto prepare, make ready.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Depending on who or what was being readied, it could mean either of two contradictory things: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto decorate something with ribbons, laces, or the like to give it a finished appearance\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto cut off the outgrowths or irregularities of.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 And the context doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always make it clear. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trimming the tree are you using tinsel or a chain saw?
\n*
\n8. Cleave<\/strong> can be cleaved into two \u00e2\u20ac\u0153homographs,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d words with different origins that end up spelled the same. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cleave,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meaning \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto cling to or adhere,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 comes from an Old English word that took the forms cleofian, clifian, or cl\u00c4\u00abfan. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cleave,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with the contrary meaning \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto split or sever (something), \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc as you might do with a cleaver, comes from a different Old English word, cl\u00c4\u201cofan. The past participle has taken various forms: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cloven,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which survives in the phrase \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cloven hoof,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cleft,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as in a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cleft palate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cleaved.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n*
\n9. Resign<\/strong> works as a contronym in writing. This time we have homographs, but not homophones. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Resign,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meaning \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto quit,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is spelled the same as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153resign,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meaning \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto sign up again,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pronounced differently.
\n*
\n10. Fast<\/strong> can mean “moving rapidly,” as in “running fast,” or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfixed, unmoving,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as in “holding fast.” If colors are fast they will not run. The meaning \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfirm, steadfast\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 came first. The adverb took on the sense \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstrongly, vigorously,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 which evolved into \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcquickly,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 a meaning that spread to the adjective.
\n*
\n11. Off<\/strong> means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdeactivated,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as in “to turn off,” but also \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcactivated,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as in “The alarm went off.”
\n*
\n12. Weather<\/strong> can mean \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto withstand or come safely through,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The company weathered the recession,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or it can mean \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto be worn away\u00e2\u20ac\u2122: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The rock was weathered.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n*
\n13. Screen<\/strong> can mean \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (a movie) or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto hide\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (an unsightly view).
\n*
\n14. Help<\/strong> means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcassist,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 unless you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help doing something, when it means \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcprevent.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are 14 Words That Are Their Own Opposites. I love the English language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[775,776,268],"class_list":["post-3337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-did-you-know","tag-fun-with-words","tag-opposites-attract","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3337"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9983,"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3337\/revisions\/9983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.waubonsee.edu\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}