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Autoantonym

An antonym is any word that can be its own antonym. That is, a word that has two or more distinct and opposite meanings. A word that has contradictory meanings. An autoantonym is also known as an antilogy, antagonym, contronym, enantiodrome, and Janus word. The last name, Janus word, comes from Janus, the two-headed Roman god.

Here are a few autoantonyms:

Bolt
to secure in place
to dash away suddenly

Buckle
to fasten
to come undone, to give way, to collapse

Carry on
to behave normally
to behave abnormally.

Citation
an award for good behavior
a penalty for bad behavior

Clip
to fasten together, to attach to, to hold tightly
to cut off, to cut apart

Dust
to remove dust
to apply dust

Fast
moving rapidly
fixed in position

Left
departed from
remaining

Moot
arguable
not worthy of argument

Over
once more
finished

Peer
an equal
a nobleman, a person of higher rank

Quantum
very small
very large

Rent
to lend, to lease out
To borrow, to hire

Screen
to view, show
to conceal, shield

Table
to propose, to suggest
to postpone, to shelve

Trim
to cut pieces off, to remove excess
To ornament, to add to

Weather
to withstand, to stand up to
to wear away



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