paranymn.
/ˈparənɪm/, U.S. /ˈpɛrəˌnɪm/ 1. A near synonym. rare.
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the mind > language > linguistics > semantics > synonymy > [noun] > synonym > near synonym
homoeosemant1873
paranym1963
1963 L. Hogben Essent. World Eng. 11 The L.E.S.U. [= List of Essential Semantic Units] cites non-essential paranyms for new terms even if definable by reference to terms which appear earlier in the list.
2. A euphemistic word or phrase whose literal sense is contrary to the reality of what it refers to, used esp. to disguise or misrepresent the truth about something.
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the mind > language > linguistics > semantics > condition of being opposite in meaning > [noun] > antonym
countersense1645
antonym1857
paranym1976
1976 Listener 17 June 773/3 A newspaper columnist has recently been collecting what he calls ‘paranyms’—words whose meaning is generally the opposite of that intended by the speaker, such as ‘provisional’ or ‘liberation’ or ‘rationalise’. The writer Brian Aldiss thereupon contributed an example he had found in the New Testament: ‘“everlasting life”; in other words “death”’.
1977 Sunday Times 2 Jan. 32/4 What a year for paranyms. Never before can so many decent, explicit words have utterly altered their meaning to conceal an evasion or untruth.
1984 Times 20 Oct. 8/7 I asked a learned friend for a paranym and he came up with ‘balanced reporting’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1963- to go by baston
- to go by default
- to go by luff
- to go by luff by love
- to go by the ears
- to go by the etc of
- to go by the name of
- to go by the title of
- to go by the wayside
- to go by the worse
- to go by the worst
- to go cheap
- to go climb upstairs
- to go clish-clash
- to go clishclash
- to go clubbing
- to go commando
- to go cousining
- to go crazy
- to go critical
- to go crook
- to go dark
- to go different ways
- to go digital
- to go dingy on