Janus Words

(contronyms or words which have definitions that are self-antonyms; that is, which have two meanings that are the opposites of each other)

alight (Janus word)
To settle onto and to dismount from.
can (Janus word)
To preserve (~ the peaches) and to discard or fire (~ the worker).
cleave (Janus word)
To join (as in, "to cleave unto") plus to separate or to divide.
clip (Janus word)
1. To attach (as in, "to clip to") plus to separate, snip, or cut.
2. To partition (~ the paper) and to join (~ the papers).
cork (Janus word)
To take out and to insert a cork from a bottle.
cull (Janus word)
To select plus to reject.
dust (Janus word)
To remove from (~ the table) and to add to (~ the cake).
enjoin (Janus word)
To direct and to forbid.
fix (Janus word)
A solution and a problem (also "fixed").
inoculate (Janus word)
To protect against and to infect with.
oversight (Janus word) (s) (noun), oversights (pl)
1. A mistake which is made because someone forgets or fails to notice that something is wrong due to inattention: When little Lisa made her first cake, it was an oversight that she omitted the baking powder!
2. The supervision or control which is necessary for making sure that a system or process is working smoothly and efficiently: While the students were taking their tests, oversight was required of the teachers to be in the same room.
A failure to see an unintentional mistake.
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protest (Janus word)
To object and to affirm (also, "protestations").
ravel (Janus word)
To entangle and to disentangle (as does "unravel").
sanction (Janus word)
To allow plus to prohibit or to punish.
screen (Janus word)
To display (~ a movie) and to hide (~ his view).