contronym

noun

con·tro·nym | \ ˈkän-trə-ˌnim

How to pronounce contronym (audio)

\

variants: or contranym

plural contronyms or contranyms

Definition of contronym

: a word having two meanings that contradict one another Sometimes, just to heighten the confusion, the same word ends up with contradictory meanings. This kind of word is called a contronym. Sanction, for instance, can either signify permission to do something or a measure forbidding it to be done. Cleave can mean cut in half or stick together. A sanguine person is either hotheaded and bloodthirsty or calm and cheerful. Something that is fast is either stuck firmly or moving quickly.— Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue, 1990

— called also antagonym, autoantonym, Janus word

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about contronym

Dictionary Entries near contronym

control surface

Statistics for contronym

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for contronym

The first known use of contronym was in 1962

See more words from the same year

Comments on contronym

What made you want to look up contronym? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

propitious

likely to have or produce good results

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ