Word.ws English Dictionary

Janus words

Janus words is the plural of Janus word.

Meaning of Janus word

Noun

Janus word (plural Janus words)

  1. 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

Questions about Janus words

What is Janus words the plural of?
Janus words is the plural of Janus word.

Words near Janus words in the dictionary

  1. Janus kinase
  2. Janus kinases
  3. Janus particle
  4. Janus particles
  5. Janus word
  6. Janus words
  7. Janus-faced
  8. Janus-faced lock
  9. Janus-faced locks
  10. Janus-headed
  11. Janusfaced

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Janus words (page history and authors); 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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