contranyms
Words meaning opposites
Contranyms are words that have two opposite meanings.
To cleave can mean to split apart or to cling together.
To sanction can mean to permit or to penalize.
Dust means to remove fine particles (dust the furniture) or to apply them (dust the cake with powdered sugar).
Also called Janus words, after the two-faced Roman god.
Split or adhere
- sanctionApproval or punitive measure
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- dustFine settled particles
- trimRemove unwanted edges
buckle · weather · screen · seed · bolt · left · clip · fast
Word having related meanings
- cleaveSplit or adhere
- sanctionApproval or punitive measure
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- dustFine settled particles
trim · buckle · weather · screen · seed · bolt · left · clip
Challenge testing ingenuity
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
- ambiguityOpenness to multiple interpretations
double meaning · word games · puns · interpretation · double-edged · opposites · wordsmith · rhetorical device
cleave
Split or adhere
- sanctionApproval or punitive measure
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- dustFine settled particles
trim · buckle · weather · screen · seed · bolt · left · clip · fast · strike
polysemy
Word having related meanings
- cleaveSplit or adhere
- sanctionApproval or punitive measure
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
dust · trim · buckle · weather · screen · seed · bolt · left · clip · fast
puzzle
Challenge testing ingenuity
ambiguity · double meaning · word games · puns · interpretation · double-edged · opposites · wordsmith · rhetorical device