Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

janus word

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.02 in modern English

Syllables: janus -word
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A word that has two contradictory meanings; a contronym.

Example Sentences

"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."
"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."
"The difference between them is that in Janus parallelism, the referents of the Janus word do not contain the same root as the Janus word; in antanaclasis, the same root is repeated with a different meaning."

Etymology

From Janus, the two-faced Roman god of doorways and transitions.

Inflected Forms

Janus words (plural)

Questions

What does janus word mean?: A word that has two contradictory meanings; a contronym.
Where does janus word come from?: From Janus, the two-faced Roman god of doorways and transitions.

How to pronounce janus word

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