The 19 Most CONFUSING Words in English

Most words have antonyms, which are “opposite” words. For example, the antonym of good is bad. An antonym of sad is happy. Then there are these super CONFUSING words called contronyms. These words are their OWN antonyms; they mean both one thing and the opposite of that thing.

…WHAT??

Contronyms: “Janus Words”

Contronyms are words that mean two different, opposite things. The intended meaning must come from context clues because the words’ definitions are contradictory. One example is “to dust,” which can mean either to take away small particles (as in dusting your shelves) or to add them (as in dusting a cake with powdered sugar).

Contronyms are also called Janus words, named after the Roman god of doorways, transitions, and duality (duality being the key connection between the god and these “opposite words”). The god Janus famously has two faces, just like contronyms have two opposite meanings.

Some other names for contronyms include antagonyms and autoantonyms. Whatever you call them, though, they’re the same thing: words that are their own opposites.

There aren’t very many contronyms out there, but the ones that do exist can be pretty tricky! Luckily, context almost always tells you which meaning is intended. Let’s take a look at a few of the most common contronyms.

The 19 Most Common English Contronyms

Bolt

Definition 1: to separate by fleeing (e.g., “The cat bolted from the room.”)

Definition 2: to hold together (e.g., “The door is bolted securely shut.”)

Bound

Definition 1: moving freely toward a destination (e.g., “The dog bounded toward his owner.”)

Definition 2: restrained from moving (e.g., “My hands were bound.”)

Cleave

Definition 1: to adhere firmly and closely (e.g., “Partners should cleave to one another.”)

Definition 2: to split apart (e.g., “The rocks were cleaved from the mountain.”)

Clip

Definition 1: to fasten together (e.g., “I clipped the papers together.”)

Definition 2: to detach (e.g., “Please clip the long branches off the hedges.”)

Dust

Definition 1: to cover something with a fine power (e.g., “Dust the cake with a layer of powdered sugar.”)

Definition 2: to make something clean by removing dust (e.g., “The bookshelves are filthy and need to be dusted.”)

Fast

Definition 1: firmly fixed and unmoving (e.g., “The frame was stuck fast to the wall.”)

Definition 2: able to move rapidly (e.g., “That runner is fast.”)

Left

Definition 1: departed (e.g., “The gentlemen have left.”)

Definition 2: remained behind (e.g., “Only the ladies are left.”)

Off

Definition 1: not operating (e.g., “Turn off the light.”)

Definition 2: operating (e.g., “The fire alarm went off.”)

Out

Definition 1: visible (e.g., “The stars are out.”)

Definition 2: invisible (e.g., “The light went out.”)

Overlook

Definition 1: to watch (e.g., “The balcony overlooked the park.”)

Definition 2: to fail to notice (e.g., “I must have overlooked that part of the paper.”)

Oversight

Definition 1: watchful, responsible care (e.g., “The council was responsible for the oversight of the project.”)

Definition 2: a mistake made due to poor supervision (e.g., “An oversight like that could ruin the whole project.”)

Peruse

Definition 1: to skim (e.g., “He casually perused the newspaper over breakfast.”)

Definition 2: to read very carefully (e.g., “The editor perused the book for errors.”)

Rent

Definition 1: to lease something (e.g., “We would like to rent that flat from you.”)

Definition 2: to offer something for lease (e.g., “Yes, I will rent that flat to you.”)

Sanction

Definition 1: to impose a penalty on (e.g., “The president imposed sanctions on certain nations.”)

Definition 2: to approve (e.g., “The CEO sanctioned some drastic changes.”)

Screen

Definition 1: to hide (e.g., “The evidence was screened from the detective’s view.”)

Definition 2: to show (e.g., “What movie is being screened at the theater tonight?”)

Seed

Definition 1: to add seed (e.g., “It’s time to seed the lawn.”)

Definition 2: to remove seeds (e.g., “I need to seed that watermelon.”)

Strike

Definition 1: to hit (e.g., “Try to strike in the middle of the ball.”)

Definition 2: to miss while trying to hit (e.g., “Three strikes and you’re out.”)

Trim

Definition 1: to add decorations (e.g., “Let’s trim the tree!”)

Definition 2: to take away (e.g., “I trimmed off the extra fabric.”)

Weather

Definition 1: to withstand (e.g., “We must weather the storm.”)

Definition 2: to be worn away (e.g., “The rock was gradually weathered away.”)

How Do Contronyms Happen?

It seems silly to invent a word and give it two opposite meanings. And that would, in fact, be slightly ridiculous. Most contronyms develop their opposite meaning gradually. The word starts out meaning one thing and then—over a period of time—develops the opposite meaning as people use it in new ways.

Semantic broadening is a phenomenon by which a word with one specific meaning gradually develops a more broad and general meaning. The opposite can also happen: a word might have a broad meaning and then develop one or many more specific meanings. Either of these processes can lead to contronyms.

Rarely, a contronym might come about because of two similar-sounding but unrelated words that evolve separately into the same word. Merriam-Webster notes that this happened to the word cleave: The Old English verbs cleōfan (“to split”) and clifian (“to adhere”) each evolved into the word cleave, giving that word two opposite meanings. Now, cleave can mean to split (to cleave a stone is to cut it in half) or to adhere to (someone who cleaves to their principles holds them close).

Slang plays a role, too. Words that traditionally have negative meanings like sick and bad might be used colloquially with positive connotations, like “sick outfit,” which obviously doesn’t mean your t-shirt has a cold. Although the meanings might not be direct opposites, the connotations of the words are clearly different depending on the context.

Can you think of any more contronyms? Drop them in the comments below!

Sources:

• “Contronym.” Wikipedia, October 27, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contronym.
• “Contronyms, Janus Words, Antagonyms, Autoantonyms.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/words-own-opposites#:~:text=A%20contronym%2C%20also%20known%20as,words%2C%20antagonyms%2C%20and%20autoantonyms.
• DiLonardo, Mary Jo. “30 Words That Are Their Own Opposites.” ThoughtCo, September 9, 2024. https://www.thoughtco.com/words-that-are-their-own-opposites-4864116.
• Joki, Kimberly. “10 Verbs That Are Contronyms.” Grammarly, September 16, 2022. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/parts-of-speech/10-verbs-contronyms/.