Tagged Questions
6
votes
2answers
191 views
Chuffed - happy or unhappy?
I was looking into the word chuffed this morning, and came across this:-
chuffed 1 /tʃʌft/
adjective British Informal.
delighted; pleased; satisfied.
Origin: 1855–60; see chuff2 , ...
2
votes
2answers
100 views
What is the difference between “count” and “matter” in this quote?
I came across a quote today, it is,
As a person it's what's on the inside that counts. It's what's on the outside that matters.
Please explain the quote for me. Are count and matter opposites?
4
votes
5answers
245 views
Looking for the opposite of “drill down”
I am a programmer working on a chart component that allows to drill down on selection of a node. Drilling down will show the details of that node (like its children etc.). But I am struggling to find ...
0
votes
2answers
77 views
What is the opposite of “usage”?
I am looking for a word which meaning is the opposite of "usage". The context is the use of devices of any sort. The best I've come up with so far is to look at the situation from the devices ...
-2
votes
3answers
77 views
Does “to differ” have an antonym? [closed]
The antonym of different is similar. What is the antonym of to differ? I would love it if to similate were a word.
0
votes
0answers
86 views
Loose And Tight [closed]
In one dictionary, the definition (5) for the adjective "loose" reads:
5 : not stiff or tense : flexible or relaxed
▪ He walked with a loose stride. ▪ loose muscles ▪ I never relaxed that day; ...
4
votes
3answers
154 views
“Loosen up”, “tighten up”
"To loosen up" means "to become not nervous". Could the phrase "to tighten up" be a good opposite and mean "to become nervous"?
7
votes
3answers
2k views
Is “misogyny” only applicable to men? What is the antonym of misogyny?
I came across the following sentence in New Yorker’s (February 23) article, titled “In Defense of Liz Lemon”:
“She behaves as if Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) is her daddy. She
doesn’t trust her ...
5
votes
2answers
571 views
“Spontaneous”, “voluntary” and “involuntary”
I was looking for a synonym of spontaneous, and voluntary naturally came to my mind. In an attempt to understand the difference between them, I tried to google spontaneous vs voluntary. To my ...
4
votes
4answers
705 views
“Doubt” vs. “suspect” [closed]
I have never used doubt or suspect properly before. Now I understand that they seem to bear quite the opposite meanings in a sentence.
For example,
Everybody believes him, but I suspect he is ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Would anyone use “ramp down” as the opposite to “ramp up”
In the context, for example, of factory production I often read the phrase "ramp up production" or "a ramp-up in production". To me "ramp down" sounds a strange phrase to use as the opposite - does ...
2
votes
2answers
231 views
Why can “bill” mean (almost) opposite things?
Bill is somewhat of an auto-antonym, since it can mean either a piece of paper which has positive monetary value (i.e. a note), or a piece of paper which has negative monetary value (though it only ...
1
vote
3answers
153 views
Depression and happiness
Are "depression" and "happiness" antonyms?
Are they mutually exclusive?
Does the absence of one imply the presence of the other?
(I am trying to ascertain the semantic validity of using ...
29
votes
15answers
3k views
“True” is to “false” as “truth” is to… what?
If I were to reverse the sentence, "I care about the truth" I would want to say:
I care about the false.
Is that correct? It seems awkward at best:
He speaks the truth! / He speaks the ...
1
vote
1answer
162 views
Words that have opposing definitions? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
English words that are their own antonyms
What words have opposite meanings in different regions?
I was reading a book the other day when the author wrote:
The ...
14
votes
9answers
2k views
Antonym of 'stigma'
I am looking for a word that has the opposite, positive connotation from 'stigma':
For example,
There is a stigma of laziness associated with poor people.
What would be the replacement for ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the “explicit”'s equivalent of “imply”?
Note: The original title of this question was "Why is 'exply' not a word?
While considering the words implicit, implicate, and imply, it struck me that I can't think of an equivalent to imply for ...
4
votes
1answer
276 views
ravel: opposite meanings?
From the definition found at Merriam-Webster and elsewhere, it seems that to ravel has completely opposite meanings; i.e. it means to unravel, to disentangle as well as to entangle.
What's going on ...
30
votes
15answers
3k views
Words with opposite meanings in different regions
I can't recall it, but there is a word in American English which now means the opposite of itself in British English. What words are there that have opposite (not just different) meanings in different ...
5
votes
5answers
919 views
Word meaning the reverse of 'Xenophobia'
Xenophobia refers to the irrational fear or hatred of foreigners. But recently I've seen people displaying (in newspaper articles and other places) an irrational fear or hatred of their own ...
