Homonyms which are nearly antonyms

[Qwynegold]

Tackar, men kommer du på några fler för här har det tvärdött?

Men bitch. -__-

How about this possible homophone, somewhatish antonym?:

best (beast) vs. bäst (best)

[Mr. Z]

Would "affect" vs "effect" count?

I don't think they're antonyms, but maybe someone else knows better.

[Okuno]

Would "affect" vs "effect" count?

I don't think they're antonyms, but maybe someone else knows better.

I mean, the usual use of "affect" isn't an antonym of "effect" at all however. However, there's also the less-used "Our policy affects the situation," where it means "to cause," which is in a way the opposite of "effect."

[finlay]

Would "affect" vs "effect" count?

I don't think they're antonyms, but maybe someone else knows better.

I mean, the usual use of "affect" isn't an antonym of "effect" at all however. However, there's also the less-used "Our policy affects the situation," where it means "to cause," which is in a way the opposite of "effect."

This is "Our policy effects the situation". It's rare usages like these (yes, it's a verb, but it's not the same verb as "affect", which means something like making a change in something else rather than "cause" from scratch) that can trip people up. (as quoth xkcd)

[Chuma]

Oh man, I have a list of these somewhere. Can't find it now.

There's "sanction", which usually means that you approve of something, but can also mean that you don't.

And the music term "obligato", which in older music means a part that can't be left out, but in some newer music means one that can.

[Skomakar'n]

Iirc, the Thai words for "hit" and "miss" (as in a target, used e.g. when playing darts or the like) only differ in tone.


JAL

Oh god, Mandarin is full of these. Well, maybe not full, but I can think of at least two off the top of my head:

买，卖 (mai4, mai3), meaning 'sell' and 'buy' respectively.
那，哪 (na4, na3), meaning 'there' and 'where' respectively.

The buy/sell example reminds me of German kaufen/verkaufen for buy/sell.

Faroese has /hE:r/ 'here' and /hE:ar/ 'there'. : D

[Qwynegold]

Oh, I came up with one for Swedish! Grina can mean both grin and cry.

[MisterBernie]

Oh, I came up with one for Swedish! Grina can mean both grin and cry.

Hmm, now I wonder how German grinsen and greinen fit in there.

[----]

Ooh I've got one! English slang 'bad' for good; cool; awesome, and then there's 'bad', which means 'bad'

[Qwynegold]

Oh, I came up with one for Swedish! Grina can mean both grin and cry.

Hmm, now I wonder how German grinsen and greinen fit in there.

Aha! So the Swedish homonym is probably because of sound changes and not semantic drift.

[Rui]

Ooh I've got one! English slang 'bad' for good; cool; awesome, and then there's 'bad', which means 'bad'

As well as 'sick,' 'wicked,' 'ill,' or whatever else you use based on your age and where you live. I have a good friend from San Diego who uses 'dank' in this context (she's also a huge pothead)

[----]

I thought 'dank' referred exclusively to marijuana that was really good or something, I've never heard it applied to non illegal things.

[Rui]

I thought 'dank' referred exclusively to marijuana that was really good or something, I've never heard it applied to non illegal things.

That's where it originated, but she's definitely used to to refer to at the very least food items like burgers/chicken/sauce and whatnot. I forget if she ever uses it with anything else.

[linguofreak]

Cleave.

[Shrdlu]

I always thought dank was negative, like "mucky".

edit: like "the weather was dank, dark and misty".

[Rui]

I always thought dank was negative, like "mucky".

edit: like "the weather was dank, dark and misty".

It does, but in colloquial speech, it much more often refers to something good. ex: This song is dank, meaning the song is good.

[Okuno]

This is "Our policy effects the situation". It's rare usages like these (yes, it's a verb, but it's not the same verb as "affect", which means something like making a change in something else rather than "cause" from scratch) that can trip people up. (as quoth xkcd)

Ughn, yeah... I did do that, didn't I... because I never use it! I literally use the word "verisimilitude" more often! I've used "mendicant" more often, for that matter! People have an easier time understanding "Jaa, mata." when they don't even speak Japanese! (Seriously, the context is so strong, they don't even bat an eyelash half the time.) I therefore debate whether it's a real part of the language (though yeah, that's exactly the comic I was thinking of and should have looked up again).

[Bedelato]

One which comes to mind is /raiz/ in English, which can be either "raise" or "raze".

You mean /reiz/, right...? Right?

[alice]

One which comes to mind is /raiz/ in English, which can be either "raise" or "raze".

You mean /reiz/, right...? Right?

Touché, although I really meant /rez/.

[finlay]

tomato, tomato (it doesn't matter what you label your phonemes with)

also we've been over this.

[Rui]

Touché, although I really meant /rez/.

[rez] is /rɛz/ in South African English

(and yes, I know you wrote yours in //, but I just wanted to point it out )

[L'alphabētarium]

dust: as a verb, it can mean both "I remove dust" or "I apply dust (or powder)*"
*although the first meaning is much more usual

[Herr Dunkel]

Near homonyms that are near antonims?

Schiss/Schoß
I shit *shat / womb

Well, they're not exactly antonyms, truth be told, but they have opposite connotations: schiss = bad ; Schoß = good, warm, fuzzy

[Jipí]

Nope.

[Herr Dunkel]

Nope.

What, shitting is good now? DAMN YOU SCATOPHILIC ZBB