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A contronym is alternatively called an autantonym, auto-antonym, ... a term that becomes difficult to use because it is evolving from one meaning to another, ...
The term antonym (and the related antonymy) is commonly taken to be synonymous with opposite, but antonym also has other more restricted meanings. Graded (or gradable) antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite and which lie on a continuous spectrum (hot, cold).
When the antiphrasal use is very common, the word can become an auto-antonym, [3] having opposite meanings depending on context. For example, Spanish dichoso [ 4 ] originally meant "fortunate, blissful" as in tierra dichosa , "fortunate land", but it acquired the ironic and colloquial meaning of "infortunate, bothersome" as in ¡Dichosas moscas ...
This stems from the fact that there're and where're are more difficult to enunciate and are often avoided for that reason in colloquial speech. Non-standard: Where's the cars? (Instead of Where're or where are) Non-standard: There's many types of car. (Instead of There are) throe and throw. Throe is a spasm (more often seen in the plural throes).
In linguistics, converses or relational antonyms are pairs of words that refer to a relationship from opposite points of view, such as parent/child or borrow/lend. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The relationship between such words is called a converse relation . [ 2 ]
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The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell again last week, but many laid-off workers are experiencing long bouts of joblessness, keeping the door open to ...
An unpaired word is one that, according to the usual rules of the language, would appear to have a related word but does not. [1] Such words usually have a prefix or suffix that would imply that there is an antonym, with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite.