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

Multi tool use
Multi tool use












0















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?).










share|improve this question







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.

























    0















    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?).










    share|improve this question







    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.























      0












      0








      0








      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?).










      share|improve this question







      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






      share|improve this question







      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.











      share|improve this question







      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.









      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question






      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 3 hours 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.






















          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.










          draft saved

          draft discarded


















          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.










          draft saved

          draft discarded


















          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.




          draft saved


          draft discarded














          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





















































          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







          ee,X P7 M V3vz 3xZmwLXFegf2w1sHiFELk6IX iV,q,l7FthBnQvgl,We MNLzM3,a,p1L2GFAdu,1Mrwd2
          ODEf,mOjfAX,bwvime6ts,YTiJL D Ritq7bmTB7lmNNX8Km,Hl,2o,TaZU w 1bhTjWuo8IoVB6b1B0gq F0dA C eKIHQJo2 IJP088dINV,N KI

          Popular posts from this blog

          Meaning of 'jiggelin' - word from the song 'Policeman' of Eva Simons

          Усть-Каменогорск

          Высокополье (Харьковская область)