Janus word
Janus word noun: a word that has two contradictory meanings; a contronym.
Noun
Janus word (plural Janus words)
- A word that has two contradictory meanings; a contronym.
- A pro-attitude cannot be regarded as rational unless it can be justified by showing that the object of the attitude can be characterized by means of a Janus-word.1971, Richard J. Norman, Reasons for Actions: A Critique of Utilitarian Rationality, page 67
- The poet is caught in the contradiction of this Janus word. Both and neither speaking and/nor silent, the poet becomes the contradiction in which the title "Dichtermuth" involves him.1994, Nancy Dena Goldfarb, The poetics of drowning, page 37
Forms of Janus word
| plural | Janus words |
|---|
Origin of Janus word
From Janus, the two-faced Roman god of doorways and transitions.
Questions about Janus word
- What does Janus word mean?
- Janus word means a word that has two contradictory meanings; a contronym.
- What part of speech is Janus word?
- Janus word is a noun.
- What is the plural of Janus word?
- The plural of Janus word is Janus words.
Words near Janus word in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Janus word (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “Janus word.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/janus_word. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.