CONTRONYMS

Written By : Alifah Kahillah Almaira

What are Contronyms?

Contronyms are words that have two meanings that are the opposite for each other, depending on the context. 

 

You may be wondering why contronyms exist in the first place? Well, we don’t blame you. Whether you’re a native speaker or an English language learner, they can be extremely confusing. One of the reasons contronyms exist is due to the differences in English dialects. Like, in American English, the verb table means “to postpone the consideration of”, whereas, in British English, it means “to present formally for discussion or consideration.”

Contronyms Examples:

●      Lease

Lease can mean “to rent a property to someone” or “to rent a property from someone. The one who leases out the property is called “The Lessor”, they are the owner of the property.

On the other hand, the one who leases the property is called “The Lessee”, they are the renter.

 

●      Overlook

Overlook can mean “to supervise or watch something”,

She was hired to overlook the merger.

Or “fail to notice”,

He overlooked a typo in his report and submitted it with an error. 

 

●      Fine

Fine can have a positive meaning (high quality, satisfactory, or acceptable),

She has fine taste in music.

Or a negative meaning (a penalty or monetary punishment),

He received a fine for parking illegally.

1. Execute

Execute can mean “to make something happen, enforce, or complete”. But it can also mean “to end something permanently.”

• Execute as A Legal Action or Contract:

The lawyer executed the contract, making it legally binding. Meaning, the lawyer signed and finalized the contract.

• Execute as A Legal Punishment:

The prisoner was executed after being found guilty of murder. Meaning, the prisoner was put to death

.

2. Sanction

Sanction can be used to describe a penalty for breaking a law, such as a fine or jail time. But, it can also be used to describe official permission or approval for an action, such as allowing an event to happen.

• Sanction as A Penalty or Punishment:

The court sanctioned her by imposing five years of imprisonment for robbery. Meaning, the court punished her with a five-year prison sentence.

• Sanction as Permission or Approval:

The Indonesian Government sanctioned the new infrastructure project in Kalimantan to boost economic growth.

Meaning, the government approved or authorized the project.

Here’s a fun fact about Contronyms

 

Contronyms are like shape-shifters in the linguistic world! They have the unique ability to flip their meaning depending on the context. It’s like one word playing two roles in a sentence, which can either create confusion or add richness to language. It’s as if the words have a secret identity- talk about language witchcraft!

 

Now that you’ve learned about it, can you think of any other contronyms? Drop your favorite in the comments!

Sources:

1. Synder, T.C. (2017, August 7). Contronyms: Context Controls Comprehension. Attorney at Work; attorneyatwork.com. https://www.attorneyatwork.com/contronyms-context-controls-comprehension/

2. Gina. (2023, May 25). What Are Contronyms?. Language Tool; languagetool.org. https://languagetool.org/insights/post/contronyms/

3. Evan. (2023, June 2). Tips to Avoid Translation Errors Due to English Contronyms. Transcore; transcore.co.id. https://transcore.co.id/tips-to-avoid-translation-errors-due-to-english-contronyms/

4. Admin. (2020, October 2). Fun Facts About English #73 - Contronyms. Kinney Brothers Publishing; kinneybrothers.com. https://kinneybrothers.com/blog/blog/2020/10/02/fun-facts-73-contronym?/