CONTRONYMS

CONTRÓNIMOS (?)

Anabasis: A military advance vs. A military retreat
Anxious: Full of mental distress because of apprehension of danger or misfortune [in effect, seeking to avoid] (We were anxious about the nearby gunshots.) vs. Eager or looking forward to (Until you returned, I was anxious to see you.)
Apparent: Not clear or certain (For now, he is the apparent winner of the contest.) vs. Obvious (The solution to the problem was apparent to all.)
Assume: To actually have (To assume office) vs. To hope to have ("He assumed he would be elected.")
Avocation: A hobby vs. a regular occupation
Bad: There is the normal meaning and the slang meaning of "good" (sometimes pronounced baad for emphasis).
Bound: Moving ("I was bound for Chicago") vs. Unable to move ("I was bound to a post", or less literally, "I was bound to my desk")
Buckle: to hold together (e.g. buckle your belt) vs. to fall apart (e.g., buckle under pressure)
Bull: A solemn edict or mandate vs. Nonsense or worthless information
Chuff: Elated vs. Unhappy
Cite, Citation: For doing good (such as military gallantry) vs. for doing bad (such as from a traffic policeman)
Cleave: To adhere tightly vs. To cut apart
Clip: to attach vs. to cut off
Cool: positive sense (cool web-sites) vs. negative sense (cool reception).
Comprise: To contain entirely vs. To be included in ("The United States comprises 50 states"; "The 50 states comprise the United States")
Counterfeit: [Archaic] a legitimate copy vs. a copy meant to deceive
Cut: get in (as in line or queue) vs. get out (as in a school class)
Dust: To remove dust vs. To apply dust (as in fingerprinting)
Effectively: in effect (doing the equivalent of the action but not the real thing) vs. with effect (doing the action and doing it well) [Contrast "he is effectively lying" with "he is lying effectively"]
Enjoin: To order someone to do something vs. To stop someone from doing something [such as in law by an injunction]
Fast: Moving rapidly vs. Unable to move ("I was held fast to my bed.")
Fix: to restore to function (fixing the refrigerator) vs. to make non-functional (fixing the dog)
Fearful: Causing fear vs. Being afraid
Goods: [Slang] good things vs. bad things ("I have the goods from the warehouse robbery, but I'm worried the police have the goods on me.")
Hysterical: Being overwhelmed with fear [in some cases] vs. Being funny
Last: Just prior vs. final (My last book will be my last publication)
Lease, Let, Rent: [in essence] To loan out for money vs. To "borrow" for money
Left: To remain vs. to have gone (Of all who came, only Fred's left. [Does it mean he's the only one who still remains or that he's the first to depart?])
License: Liberty or permission to do something vs. Undue or excessive freedom or liberty
Literally: Precisely vs. often corruptly used to mean "figuratively" (As in: "There were literally millions of people at that party.").
Livid: Pale, ashen vs. dark gray-blue (and sometimes corrupted to mean bright red!)
Mad: carried away by enthusiasm or desire vs. carried away by hatred or anger
Overlook: to pay attention to, to inspect ("We had time to overlook the contract.") vs. to ignore
Oversight: Watchful and responsible care vs. An omission or error due to carelessness
Peruse: Read in a casual way, skim (To peruse the Sunday paper) vs. to read with great attention to detail or to study carefully (To peruse a report on financial conditions).
Policy: Required activity without exception (University policy) vs. An optional course of action (our government's policy regarding the economy)
Populate: To decimate the population (obsolete use) vs. to increase the population
Practiced: Experienced, expert (I am practiced in my work) vs. Inexperienced effort (The child practiced coloring.)
Prescribe: To lay down a rule vs. To become unenforceable
Presently: Now vs. after some time
Ravel: to disentangle or unravel vs. to tangle or entangle
Recover: hide away (cover again) vs. bring out [hyphenated] (The dinosaur bones were exposed by the flood but then re-covered with dirt, hiding them again; centuries later, the paleontologists recovered them by removing the dirt.)
Refrain: In song, meaning to repeat a certain part vs. To stop (Please refrain from using bad language)
Release: let go vs. hold on (lease the property again) [hyphenated as re-lease]
Replace: Take away (replace the worn carpet) vs. Put back (replace the papers in the file)
Repress: hold back vs. put forth (press again) [hyphenated as re-press]
Reprove: rebuke (reprove a colleague's work) vs. support (re-prove a scientist's theory)
Reservation: what you make when you know where you want to go vs. what you have when you're not sure if you want to go
Reside: to stay put vs. [Slang] to change places (change teams) [hyphenated as re-side] [N.B.: This is also a heteronym!]
Resign: to quit a contract vs. to sign the contract again [hyphenated as re-sign] [N.B.: This is also a heteronym!]
Restive: refusing to move (forward) (a restive horse) vs. Restless (moving around)
Restore [in the following use]: The painting was said to be a fake, so the museum re-stored it in the warehouse. When it was later found to be real, the museum restored it to its place in the gallery.
Riot: Violent disorder vs. Revelry (Consider what is meant when one says, "It was a riot!")
Rival: An opponent vs. (Archaic) A companion or associate
Rocky: Firm, steadfast vs. tending to sway (e.g., a rocky shelf)
Root: To establish (The seed took root.) vs. To remove entirely (usually used with "out", e.g., to root out dissenters)
Sanction: Support for an action (They sanctioned our efforts.) vs. A penalty for an action (The Congressman was sanctioned for inappropriate behavior.)
Sanguine: (Now poetic) Causing or delighting in bloodshed [according to contributor, also describes a person worked up into a bloody rage] vs. A person hopeful or confident of success [essentially someone calm about something]
Scan: to examine closely vs. to look over hastily
Screwed: [Slang, vulgar] Had a good experience (We screwed around all night.) vs. To have a bad experience (I was screwed by that cheater.)
Secreted: Having put out, released vs. Placed out of sight [N.B.: This word is also a heteronym!]
Shank: (Informal) The early part of a period of time (It was just the shank of the evening when the party began.) vs. (Informal) The latter part of a period of time (It was the shank of the evening when the party ended.)
Shop: To search with the intent to buy ("I shopped for a book at several stores.") vs. To search with the intent to sell ("I shopped my manuscript to several publishers.")
Sick: unpleasant (A sick joke) vs. wonderful (Slang: That sportscar is really sick!)
Skin: to cover with a skin vs. to remove outer covering or skin
Strike out: An ending, as in "The batter struck out." vs. A beginning, as in "I thought it was time to strike out on my own." Also, a strike in bowling occurs when there is complete contact between ball and wood (of the pins), whereas a strike in baseball occurs when there is complete absence of contact between ball and wood (of the bat). Also, to strike causes stoppage of work whereas in the theater to strike is to work on the set, lighting, etc.
Terrific: (Informal) Extraordinarily good vs. Causing terror
Transparent: Easily seen vs. invisible ("His motives were transparent.")
Trim: To add things to (trim a Christmas tree) vs. or take pieces off (trim hair)


ANTAGONISTIC PHRASES (usually informal)
These are phrases that (probably through corruption) have come to mean the opposite of what they should mean if taken literally.

All downhill from here: Things are going to get better vs. things are going to get worse
Could care less: (Used as if it were synonymous with "could not care less") One has no interest at all
Fought with: Fought on the same or opposite sides (The Finns fought with the Germans in WW II.)
Like never before: totally amateurish vs. with great skill (She's dancing like she's never danced before.)
Look out for: see Watch out for
Take care of: Look out for and nurture vs. get rid of or kill (As heard on NPR by commentator Diane Roberts discussing the meaning of saying "we're going to take care of Timothy McVeigh [convicted bomber])
Near miss: A hit close enough to achieve the effect vs. narrowly falling short of the objective
Restrict access to: ("To restrict access to adult movies, please contact the front desk.") To allow access only to vs. to disallow access to.
Tell me about it: I want to know more vs. I already know. [A QUEM O DIZES]
Watch out for: A positive statement meaning try to find or partake of vs. A negative statement meaning avoid (Watch out for this movie.)


PAIRS OF PHRASES, usually informal, meaning the same

Burned up / burned down: (both mean destroyed.)
Fat chance / slim chance: (both mean "not too likely")
Cool / hot: (both mean wonderful [Slang], e.g., when applied to a car)
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