For example, “flammable” and “inflammable” both describe an object that can easily catch on fire. I can also think of “ceased” and “deceased”, both of which can mean someone or something has been brought to an end.
edit: Some people are including words that can also mean its opposite (like sanction or table), those are cool too! The more weird words, the better!
“flammable” and “inflammable” both describe an object that can easily catch on fire.
WHAT A COUNTRY!
Hi Dr.Nick!
Literally means either literally or figuratively, and context doesn’t really help.
Literally literally means figuratively, or literally, however figuratively literally only means figuratively.
Now ask a particle scientist
Can’t they are too small and I can only know either where they are or how fast they are.
Really, it’s a way to spot a bad dictionary.
I think the word ‘unironically’ has started to fill the void left behind after the word ‘literally’ was changed to mean ‘figuratively’
And it’s been like that for decades! I only learned this recently. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literally
To bone and to debone both mean to remove bones from something, typically food.
Similarly, peel and unpeel.
Hulled means either the hull is still present or has been removed.
Unpitted DO have pits, and pitted have NO pits.
Sounds so backwards. The problem is they’re referring to the verb of the word “pit”, meaning “removing the pit”. So “unpitted” means “not removing the pit”. So dumb.
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One of those also means to add a bone to something. Coincidentally, that’s why I got fired from my job at the butcher shop.
This is kinda the opposite to what you are asking: awesome and awful used to mean the same thing IIRC, both being something filling you with awe. Later the meanings split between positive and negative.
Same with terrible and terrific.
As a non-native English speaker, I always have to think a second extra about “terrific”, about it being negative or positive. Probably because it sound similar to “terrible”.
Or as an analog: horror - terror, horrific - terrific.
You’re right to think that, because that’s how both words began!
I often thought awful was an odd word. Surely awful = full of awe, but it is frequently used to describe things that have little to no awe.
Also I have now said the word awe too much and it looks strange.
My guess is it came about because people were using it to mean “something so bad it fills you with awe”. Like “the thing humans are doing to the environment are awful”. But then it lost its connection to awe.
That’s my guess.
suck and blow
…are opposites
“Man, that sucks.”
“Man, that blows.”
Those two phrases have identical meanings.
Except on my… Other account.
Near miss and near hit both mean a close call.
My pedestrian is half run over.
Sanction can mean a punishment or an authorization.
Came up in a DND game where a devil’s contract said the players crossing the region would be sanctioned, or something like that. Players thought it meant they had permission, fine print said they would be punished.
It means authorized decision. The decision can be a punishment.
One that sorta works:
it’s all uphill / downhill from here -> it’s only going to get worse
not really; “it’s all downhill from here” means that the hardest part is behind you, and progress will be easier from here
In French there is personne (someone) and personne (no one), plus (more) and plus (no more)
Antiautonym is what you’re looking for.
Cleave
For Australians, yeah, yeah nah, yeah yeah nah, nah, nah yeah nah, nah nah yeah, all have subtly different positive and/or negative meanings, often dependent on the situation.
The undead are dead.
Not the original question you asked, but fits in with your edit:
Priceless and worthless are opposites
Slightly different, but single words meaning multiple conflicting things seem to come to mind more readily:
- Drop meaning both to abandon or release a product
- Table meaning both put something aside or putting up for discussion
- Literally meaning both literal and figurative
Within a region, does table ever mean both of those?
In the US, it means to set aside or ignore it, but never means to continue the discussion. In the UK it means to discuss it, does it ever mean to also set it aside?
I think there’s some bleed between different countries, given increasing global connectivity. I’ve heard both definitions in Australia which makes sense as we are influenced by both countries but I suspect the British version is more common.
Similar to chips meaning both crisps and French fries.
