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A contronym (also termed an auto-antonym, Janus word, antagonym, or enantiodrome) is a word that possesses two distinct senses that contradict or oppose each other in meaning.
Contronyms are among the most celebrated curiosities of lexical semantics. In 1962, Joseph T. Shipley coined the term "contronym" in his study of word origins. In classical antiquity, they were called Janus words after the two-faced Roman deity Janus who presided over doorways and beginnings, looking simultaneously into the past and the future. Linguists recognize two primary historical mechanisms: convergent etymology (where two distinct words merge through phonetic evolution, such as Old English clēofan "to split" and clifian "to adhere", yielding "cleave") and polysemic divergence (where a single concept develops opposing perspectives, such as "oversight" meaning watchful care or unintentional omission).
Test any word to discover if it possesses dual contradictory senses:
Verified English words exemplifying contronyms (auto-antonyms) with Scrabble scores
Linguistic definitions, etymological origins, and tournament usage
A contronym (also called a Janus word or auto-antonym) is a word that possesses two mutually contradictory meanings. For example, "cleave" can mean to split apart or to stick together.