© 2024 WOSU Public Media
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Opposites Attract

The word "sanction" can mean both "to approve or permit" and "to punish." Weird, huh? It's an example of a contronym: a word that can be its own opposite, or have two contradictory meanings.

Heard in The Milk Carton Kids: No Expiration Date

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.