When words are two-faced

When words are two-faced

Language is fascinating for most of us. Does anyone know when the first word was spoken, understood or communicated by a human? Yet now we have thousands of languages and hundreds of rules to follow when we use them. Like people, words too can be two-faced, have opposite meanings and therefore, seem confusing or disconcerting.

Such words have a name -contronyms, where the two meanings contradict each other. An easy example I can give is the word dust as verb.

We use dust to express dusting the furniture, books, shelves which means removing dust from somewhere.

On the other hand, dust can also mean to add/sprinkle e.g., to dust the cake with cocoa/sugar/cinnamon in their powder form.  

Such words are also called Janus words, deriving the name from the ancient Roman god Janus who had two faces. His face looked in the opposite directions. Interestingly, that is how the month of January also got its name.

I have found a long list of contronyms, but to not test your patience, I bring to you the 20 such words which we commonly use.  

1.   Apology:

(Statement of regret for an action) I owe you an apology for arriving late with the food and spoiling your party.

(In defence of an action) His excuse that nobody had pointed out his rude and selfish behaviour before, was a weak apology for him being a jerk.

2.   Back up

(To support) The court does not believe in hearsay, you must back up the allegation with evidence.

(To retreat) The leader backed up when he saw the irate crowd converging towards him.

3. Buckle

(Secure with a buckle) The first rule for airplane safety procedures is to buckle your safety belts.

(Bend/collapse under pressure) I felt my legs buckle under me when I heard the bad news.

4. Bolt:

(Secure) People bolt their doors from inside for safety when at home.

(Flee - generally in fear) Hearing the noise of the crackers, the horse bolted.

5.Custom:

(Common practice). It is a custom in most families to have a savoury snack for the afternoon tea.

I might sound old-fashioned, but I still appreciate the time-honoured custom of gentlemen members of the Gymkhana Club standing up when a lady arrives.

(Specially-designed for someone) Custom-made clothes cost more than off-the-rack ones because they are made to the customer’s specifications. 

6.Enjoin: This one may not be very common except for family lawyers.

(Instructed) The court enjoined the couple to communicate with each other after divorce for bringing up of the children.

(Prohibited) The court enjoined the abusive man from contacting the child and her mother after the divorce.

7. Fast:

(Moving at high speed) Hundreds of young drivers are fined daily for driving too fast.

(Firm, stable, fixed). Fast colours do not bleed when the clothes are washed. /The thief could not escape because the rope people had tied him with, held him fast.

8. Finished:

(Completed) Schoolchildren are always advised to finish their homework before they go out to play.

(Ended, destroyed) The meeting finished late in the night. /The charges of sexual assaults finished the career of comedian Bill Cosby who had built his reputation as a family entertainer.

9. Left:

(To leave) The train had left before they arrived at the platform.

(Remain) He was always rude and selfish and slowly was left with no friends. Or a simple sum:

If out of twenty-eight, ten people have left (to leave) the party, how many of them are left (remaining) behind?

10.Overlook:  

(Supervise) Teachers overlook students’ academic progress.

(Fail to notice) I am new in this organization, I hope the boss will be understanding and would overlook my faux pas.  

11.Pitted

(Dented) The young girl’s face was pitted with acne. /The road was pitted with holes caused by hailstones.

(With seeds removed) Use pitted fruit in recipes, it is no fun having to spit the pits out while eating.

12. Rock:

(Immobile mass of stone, someone you can rely upon) Father stood like a rock to support us in times of turmoil.

(Shake something, to and fro movement) A magnitude 5.5 earthquake rocked the southern Turkish province of Adana, last month. / The slowly moving crib rocked the baby gently to sleep.

13.Sanction:

(Permit/authorize) In almost all the countries the law sanctions ambulance driving faster than the speed limit.

(Condemn, penalize) Sanctions against Russia will only be lifted when it ends the war with Ukraine.

14.Screen:

(Protect, conceal) She used her handbag to screen her face from the blazing sun.

(Show or broadcast a movie or TV show): The soap operas screened on most television channels never seem to end.

15.Skin:

(To cover) The fat rises to the top and the skin that forms when fresh milk is boiled, is called malai in Hindi.

(To remove the cover) Their player fell on the court and skinned his knee, not a serious injury in any way.

16.Temper:

(To soften) He is obstinate but emotionally fragile, so everyone tries to temper criticism with sympathy when dealing with him.

(To strengthen) Whether it is chocolate or iron, when you temper them, i.e., heat and cool them at specific temperature, the resultant stronger matter becomes more amenable to being moulded in the desired way.

17.Trim:

(To decorate) The fabric she uses, is cheap in quality but she trims it with embellishments to make it look expensive.

(Remove excess from) Do ketogenic diets use meat without trimming off the fat?

18.Trip:

(Journey) We took a day trip to the mountains to soak in their beauty.

(Stumble) With the kind of heavy, flowing dresses and high heels celebrities wear on the red carpet, it is not a surprise that someone always trips.

19.Wear:

(Endure, tolerate) Polyester clothes might be uncomfortable in summer or winter but they certainly wear well for years.

(Tire out, deteriorate, diminish) The long journey on bumpy road will wear you out and you would not be able to enjoy the party later in the evening. /Walking from one house to the other trying to sell his wares wore off the soles of his shoes. /Withing an hour, the effects of anesthesia started to wear off and she began moaning with pain.

20.Weather:

(Withstand) Most of the companies managed to weather the fiscal hardships suffered due to Covid and recovered their monetary losses.

(Wear away, to expose to the weather, to disintegrate) The buildings in our country do not look bright for long because the cruel summer and the monsoon rains weather them fast.                                                                                             - Anupama S Mani