Social situations Unit 7 -
Contronyms - words which can mean their opposite - or almost
Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter. Use capitals ("He" not "he") when necessary.

Some words can mean their opposites:

Extreme cases are the way in which; for example, In modern English the word "bad" has come to mean, (in slang many would say) "good".

"That car is real bad, man!"

A more classic example is the verb "to rent" which is used for the British verb "To let" in American (and more and more everywhere else).
"I don't have my own home: I rent a flat." (I rent it from someone.)
"I sometimes rent my country house to make a little extra cash." (I let it to tourists.)

In this activity each word below is used twice (in one case three times)

Before or after the activity you can explore the meanings of the word. Just click on the one which interests you.

stoned, sanctioned, screened,
seeded, dusted

The examples illustrate very different meanings - almost opposites.

I have always bought olives - since I broke a tooth on one that wasn't!

In the UK murder was by the death penalty until 1965

The morning frost all the flowers with sparkling crystals of ice.

In 1895 the world's first commercial movie was at the Grand Cafe in Paris.

The committee has the expenditure for the project so it can go ahead.

To make a really smooth soup tomatoes should be with a spoon or sieve.

The lawn is nearly bald. What's the best time of the year to have it ?

With all this traffic going past, the furniture has to be twice a week!

The view of the buildings from the park is by a copse of trees.

Every passenger and his luggage is before boarding the aircraft.

In 2013 in Pakistan a young mother was to death for possessing a cellphone.