Words that are their own opposites

[Chuma]

I like compiling lists of words, and one of the many lists I have is the list of words that can mean two things that are the opposite of each other. I've been mostly doing it in Swedish, so let's do the English version here.

I found a few examples here and here. (The internet takes all the fun out of wordlisting.) A couple of examples I've come up with that I don't think are on any of those lists:

natty - can mean both neat and not neat
obligato - a musical term which in older music means that a part is necessary, but in later music means that it's not necessary

Can you think of any?

[linguoboy]

cleave

[Soap]

Vegetative, though the positive sense of "full of life" is very rarely used nowadays, it is still in some dictionaries.

Shaft: a thick piece of metal that goes into a hole; or a hole that a thick piece of metal goes into

[alice]

sanction

This looks like it's beginning to turn into another word-association thread...

[Ulrike Meinhof]

I've been mostly doing it in Swedish

I'd like to see some of those words!

[Viktor77]

With.

I am with you-Modern English- I am accompanying you, in your favour.

I am with thee-Old-Middle English- I am against you and not in your favour.

[Aurora Rossa]

Communism - Refers either to an ideal society with no government or economic exploitation, or else a totalitarian regime built on forced labor.

[Chuma]

Good ones!

I thought of "sanction" too, but to my dismay, that was listed on one of those pages.

[Matt]

What about inflammable?

[Gaxa]

"Bitch" varies wildly among dialects, and even just by the tone of the speaker's voice.

[Radius Solis]

I don't doubt that usage of "bitch" varies widely, but there do seem to be some common threads in how it is used: as a verb, it is always negative. As a noun, it is also generally negative, and specifically it's used for members of each gender who aren't conforming to the expected gender role - women who are bossy or men who are submissive. As the adjective "bitchy" it's always negative, but as the other adjective "bitchin'", it generally has a positive meaning. Hence Seattle's infamous restaurant "Bimbo's Bitchin Burrito Kitchen". So that's quite a variety of uses for the root, but none of the individual forms are really their own opposite.

However, that reminds me of another word that is its own opposite: if something is shit it's bad, but if it's the shit, it's good.

[blank stare II]

"Bad" can mean good, for instance I painted my bicycle last summer and someone said it looked bad, though I immediately understood this to be a compliment. Dude thats a bad looking bike

Also if I do a trick and someone says it was sick, they mean it in a good way.

[Legion]

Criticism.

[vec]

In Icelandic geðslegt (originally meaning 'appealing') has come to mean the same thing as its opposite, ógeðslegt ('unappealing, disgusting') by way of sarcasm. It's impossible to say geðslegt intending its original meaning to most people.

[finlay]

I don't doubt that usage of "bitch" varies widely, but there do seem to be some common threads in how it is used: as a verb, it is always negative. As a noun, it is also generally negative, and specifically it's used for members of each gender who aren't conforming to the expected gender role - women who are bossy or men who are submissive. As the adjective "bitchy" it's always negative, but as the other adjective "bitchin'", it generally has a positive meaning. Hence Seattle's infamous restaurant "Bimbo's Bitchin Burrito Kitchen". So that's quite a variety of uses for the root, but none of the individual forms are really their own opposite.

However, that reminds me of another word that is its own opposite: if something is shit it's bad, but if it's the shit, it's good.

Similarly, dog's bollocks.

[Kereb]

However, that reminds me of another word that is its own opposite: if something is shit it's bad, but if it's the shit, it's good.

and if it's the shits, it's bad again. Though it's been suggested to me that this may be a regionalism or generationalism*...

*sure it's a word

[finlay]

However, that reminds me of another word that is its own opposite: if something is shit it's bad, but if it's the shit, it's good.

and if it's the shits, it's bad again. Though it's been suggested to me that this may be a regionalism or generationalism*...

*sure it's a word

i doubt it considering i know what you mean. unless you mean older folk won't understand it.

[Åge Kruger]

å låse kan mean both to lock and to unlock.

[Skomakar'n]

å låse kan mean both to lock and to unlock.

Really? In Swedish, you have to add an upp/opp for it to mean to unlock (as far as I know). Could you give me an example?

[Åge Kruger]

å låse kan mean both to lock and to unlock.

Really? In Swedish, you have to add an upp/opp for it to mean to unlock (as far as I know). Could you give me an example?

Yesterday, my mother-in-law tried to get into the flat downstairs, instead of ours. When she explained what had happened later on, she said:

Jeg prøvde å låse meg inn i leiligheten under.

Which could mean either of:
I tried to lock myself inside the flat downstairs.
I tried to unlock the door to let myself into the flat downstairs.

[Skomakar'n]

å låse kan mean both to lock and to unlock.

Really? In Swedish, you have to add an upp/opp for it to mean to unlock (as far as I know). Could you give me an example?

Yesterday, my mother-in-law tried to get into the flat downstairs, instead of ours. When she explained what had happened later on, she said:

Jeg prøvde å låse meg inn i leiligheten under.

Which could mean either of:
I tried to lock myself inside the flat downstairs.
I tried to unlock the door to let myself into the flat downstairs.

Haha. Yeah. That could only translate to the above in at least my idiolect.

[Qwynegold]

OK, a Swedish question: Some seem to think that frigid means slutty, while others (like me) think it means "a woman who doesn't want to have sex". Which is right, or are both right?

[masako]

I have only ever heard the latter definition used.

[Drydic]

Frigid is, if anything, the opposite of slutty.

[Mecislau]

peruse