WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Grammar Minute: Contrary to Contronyms

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

In this age of government "sanctions," what does this word actually mean? Learn more on today's episode of Grammar Minute!

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we're saving the English language 60 seconds at a time. I'm Lauren Smith and I'm an economics major, which has nothing to do with grammar but does bring up the topic of government sanctions, which in turn brings us to contronyms. Contronyms are words that mean two opposite things. A particularly annoying near-contronym is original, which can either mean new and fresh or very old. But a more definitionally strict contronym is sanction, which can imply both government support. We sanction the new tree. or government disapproval. We sanction China. Context is the only way to tell the difference. The interesting thing about contronyms is that, first of all, there aren't very many of them. Second, they tend to be buzzwords that have just lost their original meanings through overuse. When in doubt, always opt for terms with clear meanings and make sure you know exactly what you're writing.

That's your Grammar Minute. Visit Thegrammer Minute.com for more tips and tricks.