Posted by PS on June 08, 2004 at 23:42:00:
In Reply to: Re: Autoantonyms posted by kle2 on June 08, 2004 at 22:44:08:
: : How many autoantonyms (self-antonyms) can you think of?
: : "FAST" can mean both "moving quickly" and "fixed firmly in position."
: : "ENJOIN" can mean both "to order or demand" and "to forbid."
: : "CLEAVE" can mean both "to split" and "to adhere."
: : "RENTER" can mean both the "lessor" and the "lessee."
: : "TABLED" can mean both "proposed" and "shelved."
: : "TRANSPARENT" can mean both "invisible" and "easily seen or perceived."
: : "HANDICAPPED" can mean "disadvantaged" or "given an advantage" (as in golf).
: : "OVERSIGHT" can mean both "careful supervision" and "erroneous omission."
:
: : There are also antonymic phrases:
: : "IT'S ALL UPHILL FROM HERE" can mean "there are better times ahead" or "the hardest part is coming."
* * * * * * *
: Is that like "CLASS" can mean "a group of students" or "a characteristic one can posess".
No, because the meanings are not opposites. A word's antonym is the word that means the opposite. For instance, the antonym for loud is quiet, and the antonym for dark is light. So a self-antonym is a word that is also its own antonym (opposite); that is, the same word has two meanings that are opposites. Check out the words above--the two meanings are always opposites.