http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/antonyms Questions tagged with 'antonyms' at Ask MetaFilter. Sun, 17 May 2009 11:40:16 -0800 Sun, 17 May 2009 11:40:16 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/122325/Deceptively%2DSynonymous Is there a term for words that seem like they <i>should</i> be antonyms but are actually synonymous? For example: Caregiver &amp; Caretaker. I've seen words that contain opposite meanings (like 'cleave' or 'dust') referred to as <a href="http://linguisticszone.blogspot.com/2007/10/there-exist-many-words-whose-meanings.html">contronyms</a>, <a href="http://www.fun-with-words.com/nym_autoantonyms.html">autoantonyms</a>, and <a href="http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cellis/antagonym.html">antagonyms</a>.<br> <br> But I can't find a name for words that should be opposites but actually mean the same thing. Please let me know if there is a specific grammatical term for it, or if you have a suggestion (I was thinking "Deceptive Synonyms"). Also, other examples besides "caregiver" and "caretaker"? tag:ask.metafilter.com,2009:site.122325 Sun, 17 May 2009 11:40:16 -0800 antonyms language synonyms words Saxon Kane http://ask.metafilter.com/90391/The%2DOpposite%2Dof%2DLonely What other words out there lack elegant opposites? I had a long discussion with some friends trying to get someone to give me an elegant solution to finding a word that encapsulated the meaning of "the opposite of lonely". Ultimately, we failed to find one that truly captured all elements of what that concept implied. This fascinates me.<br> <br> What other words lack opposites? I do not mean which words only work in one direction (e.g. "unruly"" "unkempt"" and "uncouth" only work in the negative, but antonyms exist, like unruly/disciplined, unkempt/tidy, etc.). Rather I mean words whose opposite concept cannot be boiled down to one word. tag:ask.metafilter.com,2008:site.90391 Fri, 02 May 2008 12:24:07 -0800 antonyms language opposites rooftop secrets