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October 18, 2013

Strange But True!

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).


 
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