This Week’s Fun & Fancy Word: Contronym!
This Week’s Fun & Fancy Word Is:
Contronyms are one of the things that make language fun. Or frustrating depending on your perspective. They’re also known as Janus words, after the Roman two-faced god. So named because they are words that have contradictory meanings depending on their context. [1]
Consider the verb dust, for example:
It can mean to add fine particles to something – like when a chef dusts a dessert with powdered sugar. But it can also mean to remove fine particles – as in part of a house cleaning regimen, especially from table tops and the knick knacks on your bookshelves.
A Few More Contronyms:
Cleave: to split apart | also to cling tightly
Fast: moving quickly | also to firmly secured
Resign: to quit | also to commit to
Sanction: to allow | also to penalize
Screen: to show (as in a film) | also to obscure
Weather: to wear away | also to endure [2]
Etymology:
Origin Of The Word Contronym
The word contronym combines the prefix contra, meaning in opposition or contrast to + (o)nym, a combining form of Greek origin meaning “word.” It was coined by a Arizona State University professor named Jack Herring in the February 1962 issue of Merriam-Webster’s magazine, Word Study, who modeled the term on nouns such as synonym and ontonym. [3]
Find A Caboodle
Of Fun & Fancy Words Here.
Endnotes:
[1] Emma Wilkin. “contronym.” July 2020
[2] Jonathan Edward Durham. Facebook.
[3] Dictionary.com
Zapatka, David. “Word of the Month: Contronym. Pebble Creek Post. October 1, 2025.
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