Is there a term for a word that doesn't use a common opposite?

Multi tool use
I was thinking about common word pairs like open
and close
, on
and off
, and warm
and cold
. The pair of opposites is formed by two distinct words.
But other common pairings invoke the use of a modifier, such as active
and inactive
. One can use opposites like idle
or quiescent
, but the common opposite is the modified original. Is there a term for word pairs that are like that?
(Context: I collaborate in Ux design, and it seems that when we need to label two states, it's preferable to use pairs that are distinct (open/close), rather than pairs that are less distinct (active/inactive), because they differentiate better. So I was curious if there was a way to label pairs that are more distinct rather than, er, uh, indistinct?).
terminology antonyms
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I was thinking about common word pairs like open
and close
, on
and off
, and warm
and cold
. The pair of opposites is formed by two distinct words.
But other common pairings invoke the use of a modifier, such as active
and inactive
. One can use opposites like idle
or quiescent
, but the common opposite is the modified original. Is there a term for word pairs that are like that?
(Context: I collaborate in Ux design, and it seems that when we need to label two states, it's preferable to use pairs that are distinct (open/close), rather than pairs that are less distinct (active/inactive), because they differentiate better. So I was curious if there was a way to label pairs that are more distinct rather than, er, uh, indistinct?).
terminology antonyms
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I was thinking about common word pairs like open
and close
, on
and off
, and warm
and cold
. The pair of opposites is formed by two distinct words.
But other common pairings invoke the use of a modifier, such as active
and inactive
. One can use opposites like idle
or quiescent
, but the common opposite is the modified original. Is there a term for word pairs that are like that?
(Context: I collaborate in Ux design, and it seems that when we need to label two states, it's preferable to use pairs that are distinct (open/close), rather than pairs that are less distinct (active/inactive), because they differentiate better. So I was curious if there was a way to label pairs that are more distinct rather than, er, uh, indistinct?).
terminology antonyms
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I was thinking about common word pairs like open
and close
, on
and off
, and warm
and cold
. The pair of opposites is formed by two distinct words.
But other common pairings invoke the use of a modifier, such as active
and inactive
. One can use opposites like idle
or quiescent
, but the common opposite is the modified original. Is there a term for word pairs that are like that?
(Context: I collaborate in Ux design, and it seems that when we need to label two states, it's preferable to use pairs that are distinct (open/close), rather than pairs that are less distinct (active/inactive), because they differentiate better. So I was curious if there was a way to label pairs that are more distinct rather than, er, uh, indistinct?).
terminology antonyms
terminology antonyms
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 mins ago
Travis GriggsTravis Griggs
101
101
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Travis Griggs is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
0
active
oldest
votes
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Travis Griggs is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f488150%2fis-there-a-term-for-a-word-that-doesnt-use-a-common-opposite%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
0
active
oldest
votes
0
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Travis Griggs is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Travis Griggs is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Travis Griggs is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Travis Griggs is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f488150%2fis-there-a-term-for-a-word-that-doesnt-use-a-common-opposite%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
UBG1y2G6,2O3G7 P