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[–] 9 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Right, that's "speaking figuratively." There are rules for that.

But a word that means the opposite of what it means is not a useful word.

I'd hate to find a box in my lab marked "inflammable."

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Plenty of words mean the opposite of themselves, so much so that there's multiple words for it; autoantonym, contranym, or Janus words.

    This morning my alarm went off so I turned it off.
    I wanted to buy a new console as soon as it was out but they were all out.
    Two people were left so I left.
    I fought with Bob over chores, but I fought with Bob in the war.

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