The word 'spare' seems to have two opposite meanings
According to the dictionary, 'spare' can mean either
give (e.g spare me a coin?)
or
refrain from doing so (e.g spare me the detail).
Does this mean I need to tell from the context?
No need to give other examples as now I have found out these words are called contronym or auto-antonym.
meaning auto-antonyms
New contributor
add a comment |
According to the dictionary, 'spare' can mean either
give (e.g spare me a coin?)
or
refrain from doing so (e.g spare me the detail).
Does this mean I need to tell from the context?
No need to give other examples as now I have found out these words are called contronym or auto-antonym.
meaning auto-antonyms
New contributor
Cleave is another. If not from the context, how?
– Jim
Mar 28 at 17:09
2
What exactly is the question here? If it is 'Does this mean I need to tell from the context?', the answer is yes, that's how one usually resolves ambiguities. That answer, however, seems to be fairly obvious; is there anything else that is being asked here?
– jsw29
Mar 28 at 17:34
add a comment |
According to the dictionary, 'spare' can mean either
give (e.g spare me a coin?)
or
refrain from doing so (e.g spare me the detail).
Does this mean I need to tell from the context?
No need to give other examples as now I have found out these words are called contronym or auto-antonym.
meaning auto-antonyms
New contributor
According to the dictionary, 'spare' can mean either
give (e.g spare me a coin?)
or
refrain from doing so (e.g spare me the detail).
Does this mean I need to tell from the context?
No need to give other examples as now I have found out these words are called contronym or auto-antonym.
meaning auto-antonyms
meaning auto-antonyms
New contributor
New contributor
edited Mar 28 at 17:21
Jeffson
New contributor
asked Mar 28 at 16:52
JeffsonJeffson
42
42
New contributor
New contributor
Cleave is another. If not from the context, how?
– Jim
Mar 28 at 17:09
2
What exactly is the question here? If it is 'Does this mean I need to tell from the context?', the answer is yes, that's how one usually resolves ambiguities. That answer, however, seems to be fairly obvious; is there anything else that is being asked here?
– jsw29
Mar 28 at 17:34
add a comment |
Cleave is another. If not from the context, how?
– Jim
Mar 28 at 17:09
2
What exactly is the question here? If it is 'Does this mean I need to tell from the context?', the answer is yes, that's how one usually resolves ambiguities. That answer, however, seems to be fairly obvious; is there anything else that is being asked here?
– jsw29
Mar 28 at 17:34
Cleave is another. If not from the context, how?
– Jim
Mar 28 at 17:09
Cleave is another. If not from the context, how?
– Jim
Mar 28 at 17:09
2
2
What exactly is the question here? If it is 'Does this mean I need to tell from the context?', the answer is yes, that's how one usually resolves ambiguities. That answer, however, seems to be fairly obvious; is there anything else that is being asked here?
– jsw29
Mar 28 at 17:34
What exactly is the question here? If it is 'Does this mean I need to tell from the context?', the answer is yes, that's how one usually resolves ambiguities. That answer, however, seems to be fairly obvious; is there anything else that is being asked here?
– jsw29
Mar 28 at 17:34
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Clip is a word with two opposite meanings. You can clip something together with a paperclip, and you can clip something from a magazine, separating image/article from the magazine.
New contributor
1
When I was a boy, my British father used to give me a 'clip round the ear' if I was cheeky.
– Michael Harvey
Mar 28 at 18:01
1
Yeah, it has more than just 2 meanings
– W.E.
Mar 28 at 18:05
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Jeffson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f491746%2fthe-word-spare-seems-to-have-two-opposite-meanings%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Clip is a word with two opposite meanings. You can clip something together with a paperclip, and you can clip something from a magazine, separating image/article from the magazine.
New contributor
1
When I was a boy, my British father used to give me a 'clip round the ear' if I was cheeky.
– Michael Harvey
Mar 28 at 18:01
1
Yeah, it has more than just 2 meanings
– W.E.
Mar 28 at 18:05
add a comment |
Clip is a word with two opposite meanings. You can clip something together with a paperclip, and you can clip something from a magazine, separating image/article from the magazine.
New contributor
1
When I was a boy, my British father used to give me a 'clip round the ear' if I was cheeky.
– Michael Harvey
Mar 28 at 18:01
1
Yeah, it has more than just 2 meanings
– W.E.
Mar 28 at 18:05
add a comment |
Clip is a word with two opposite meanings. You can clip something together with a paperclip, and you can clip something from a magazine, separating image/article from the magazine.
New contributor
Clip is a word with two opposite meanings. You can clip something together with a paperclip, and you can clip something from a magazine, separating image/article from the magazine.
New contributor
New contributor
answered Mar 28 at 17:04
W.E.W.E.
1057
1057
New contributor
New contributor
1
When I was a boy, my British father used to give me a 'clip round the ear' if I was cheeky.
– Michael Harvey
Mar 28 at 18:01
1
Yeah, it has more than just 2 meanings
– W.E.
Mar 28 at 18:05
add a comment |
1
When I was a boy, my British father used to give me a 'clip round the ear' if I was cheeky.
– Michael Harvey
Mar 28 at 18:01
1
Yeah, it has more than just 2 meanings
– W.E.
Mar 28 at 18:05
1
1
When I was a boy, my British father used to give me a 'clip round the ear' if I was cheeky.
– Michael Harvey
Mar 28 at 18:01
When I was a boy, my British father used to give me a 'clip round the ear' if I was cheeky.
– Michael Harvey
Mar 28 at 18:01
1
1
Yeah, it has more than just 2 meanings
– W.E.
Mar 28 at 18:05
Yeah, it has more than just 2 meanings
– W.E.
Mar 28 at 18:05
add a comment |
Jeffson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Jeffson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Jeffson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Jeffson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f491746%2fthe-word-spare-seems-to-have-two-opposite-meanings%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Cleave is another. If not from the context, how?
– Jim
Mar 28 at 17:09
2
What exactly is the question here? If it is 'Does this mean I need to tell from the context?', the answer is yes, that's how one usually resolves ambiguities. That answer, however, seems to be fairly obvious; is there anything else that is being asked here?
– jsw29
Mar 28 at 17:34