Subscribe / Renew |
|
Contact Us |
|
► Subscribe to our Free Weekly Newsletter |
home | Welcome, sign in or click here to subscribe. | login |
October 18, 2013
Q. “Synonyms,” “antonyms” and “homonyms” you probably know. Can you say the same for “contranyms”?
A. They're words or phrases with a set of opposite meanings, says Anu Garg on his A.Word.A.Day website, and most languages have them. For example, in English, to “second-guess” means both “to guess or predict” and “to criticize an event with the benefit of hindsight,” with context providing the critical clue. It probably derives from “second-guesser” (in baseball, one who criticizes a play after the fact).
. . .
Previous columns: