The prefixes in and ex are opposites, as in interior and exterior. So shouldn't the opposite of increment be excrement? Likewise fire and water are opposites. So why isn't backfire the opposite of backwater? Such seemingly logical, but incorrect, opposites are mock antonyms. Here are just a few.
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after — bower (on a ship) ahead — afoot backfire — backwater canner — canter catalog — dogwood coffee — coffer downfall — uprise downright — upright extinct — instinct forgive — forget formality — casualty founder — loser fraction — infraction giveaway — getaway hardly — softly headlights — footlights highball — lowball implore — explore |
inception — exception incite — excite increment — excrement intend — extend invaluable — valuable layoff — standoff mistake — misgive outstanding — outlying overtake — undertake pair — impair pale — impale startle — stopple therefore — hereafter treaty — tricky undergo — overcome understand — underlie unique — bisque visitor — auditor |
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Then there are those words that seem to be sexually opposite. | |
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adder — address butter — buttress career — caress mater — matrix matter — mattress hell — shell |
hear — shear heath — sheath heave — sheave herring — hissing matron — patron mummy — puppy |
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Advertisement If input is the opposite of output, then shouldn't income be the opposite of outcome? The opposites up-down, on-off, and in-out provide many mock antonyms. | |
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backup — back down breakdown — breakup offset — onset outcome — income outgrown — ingrown outhouse — in-house outing — inning outlaw — in-law outlay — inlay outtake — intake put-on — put-off |
put-up — put-down rundown — run-up runoff — run-on shutout — shut-in sit-in — sit out sit-up — sit down standout — standin takeoff — give off takeoff — take on turndown — turn up without — within |
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And now a list of pro and con mock antonyms (forgetting for the moment that “con” as a prefix means “with.” “Con” alone is a shortened form of the Latin “contra” meaning “against.”) | |
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procession — concession production — conduction professional — confessional profound — confound profusion — confusion |
progress — congress prostitution — constitution protestant — contestant protractor — contractor provoke — convoke |
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And a few hidden mock antonyms. | |
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scan — scant shot — scold bout — bin doff — don |
gout — gin spout — spin shout — shin |