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An unpaired word is one that, according to the usual rules of the language, would appear to have a related word but does not. Such words usually have a prefix or suffix that would imply that there is an antonym, with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite. If the prefix or suffix is negative, such as 'dis-' or -'less', the word can be called an orphaned negative.
Unpaired words can be the result of one of the words falling out of popular usage, or can be created when only one word of a pair is borrowed from another language, in either case yielding an accidental gap, specifically a morphological gap. Other unpaired words were never part of a pair; their starting or ending phonemes, by accident, happen to match those of an existing morpheme, leading to a reinterpretation.
The classification of a word as "unpaired" can be problematic, as a word thought to be unattested might reappear in real-world usage or be created, for example, through humorous back-formation. In some cases a paired word does exist, but is quite rare or archaic (no longer in general use).
Such words – and particularly the back-formations, used as nonce words – find occasional use in wordplay, particularly light verse.
In English
| Word | Paired word(s) | Notes on paired word |
|---|---|---|
| Awful | Awless | Not attested |
| Disambiguate | Ambiguate | Not attested. Disambiguate derives from dis- + ambigu(ous) + -ate in the mid-20th century |
| Discomfit | Comfit | Not an antonym. Comfit (noun) is a candy comprising a sugar-coated nut or fruit. From Old French confit, from Latin confectum meaning "put together". Discomfit probably includes some conflation with discomfort. |
| Disgruntle | Gruntle | Humorous back-formation, circa 1938. |
| Disgusting | Gusting | From Latin gustāre meaning to taste; antonym form appeared in Old French desgouster |
| Disheveled, Dishevelled | Sheveled, Shevelled | Not attested. Disheveled is from Old French deschevelé. |
| Exasperate | Asperate | Synonym. To make rough, a similar connotation to exasperate's secondary meaning of increasing the intensity of pain. |
| Feckless | Feckful | Used in Scottish English |
| Gormless | Gormful | Not attested. Gormless derives from gaumless, whose antonym gaumy is rare and highly region-specific. |
| Improvisation | Provisation | Not attested, as something created with forethought. |
| Impulsive | Pulsive | Rare. Means "tending to compel; compulsory". |
| Incorrigible | Corrigible | Rare. Typically describes the abstract, such as a theory, rather than a person.[citation needed] |
| Indomitable | Domitable | Rare |
| Ineffable | Effable | Rare |
| Inert | Ert | Not attested. Inert is from Latin iners, meaning "without skill". The corresponding Latin antonym, ars, is the source of English art, which is not an antonym of inert. |
| Inflammable | Flammable | Synonym. From Latin flammare meaning "to catch fire". Inflammable is from Latin inflammare meaning "to cause to catch fire". Antonym is nonflammable. |
| Innocent | Nocent | Rare. Means "harmful". |
| Innocuous | Nocuous | Uncommon |
| Irritate | Ritate | Not attested |
| Nonchalant | Chalant | Humorous back-formation, popularized by platforms like TikTok |
| Noncommittal | Committal | Not an antonym. Committal (noun) means "the process of sending someone to a mental institution". |
| Nonplussed | Plussed | Not attested. Nonplussed is from Latin non plus, meaning "no more". |
| Nonsensical | Sensical | Rare. Nonsensical is derived from nonsense. |
| Off-putting | Putting | Not antonyms. |
| Overwhelm / Underwhelm | Whelm | From Middle English whelmen meaning "to turn over". May mean "to moderately impress" in recent usage. |
| Postpone | Prepone | Used in Indian English |
| Rebuttal | Buttal | Not attested |
| Reckless | Reckful | Not attested |
| Repeat | Peat | Unrelated in meaning. Means a soil formed of decomposition of plant matter. |
| Rueful | Rueless | Not attested |
| Ruthless | Ruthful | Rare. Means "full of or causing sorrow". |
| Uncouth | Couth | Rare. From Old English cunnan meaning "well-known" or "familiar". |
| Ungainly | Gainly | Rare |
| Unkempt | Kempt | Rare. Kempt was replaced by passive participle combed as comb replaced kemb. While unkempt extended to grooming and hygiene generally, combed did not undergo the same extension. Appears in the form well-kempt. |
| Unruly | Ruly | Rare |
| Unscathed | Scathed | Rare |
| Unstinting | Stinting | Rare |
| Untoward | Toward | Not an antonym. Untoward evolved from figurative alterations of toward involving deviation from norms; toward acquired no similar figurative meanings. |
| Unwieldy | Wieldy | Rare |
See also
- Accidental gap
- Back-formation
- Cranberry morpheme
- Defective verb – other form of lexical gap
- Eggcorn
- False cognate
- Fossilization (linguistics)
- Polarity item
Notes
- Words not attested or very rare in English usage.
- Jocular or facetious coinages as intentional back-formation.
References
- Injeeli, Prudent (2013). Mind Your Words Master the Art of Learning and Teaching Vocabulary. Trafford on Demand Pub. ISBN 978-1-4669-9131-6. OCLC 850242046.
- "Orphaned negative". Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- "Feckful". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- "Flammable vs. Inflammable". Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- "Nocuous". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- Smith, Luke. "What Does "Chalant" Mean? (And Is It a Real Word?)". Wikiwhow. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
- "Committal". Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- "What's Going On With 'Nonplussed'?". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- "Nonsense". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- "Whelmen - Middle English Compendium".
- "Whelm". Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
- "Words We're Watching: Prepone". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- "Ruthful". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
External links
- "Unpaired words" at World Wide Words
- "Absent antonyms" at 2Wheels: The Return
- Words with no opposite equivalent, posted by James Briggs on April 2, 2003, at The Phrase Finder
- Brev Is the Soul of Wit, Ben Schott, The New York Times, April 19, 2010
- Parker, J. H. "The Mystery of The Vanished Positive" in Daily Mail, Annual for Boys and Girls, 1953, Ed. French, S. Daily Mail: London pp. 42–43 – article on the topic, ending in a short poem "A Very Descript Man"[usurped] using humorous opposites of unpaired words
- Jack Winter, "How I Met My Wife", The New Yorker, July 25, 1994, p. 82, uses many unpaired words for humorous effect
- Semantic Enigmas: "I once read a nonsense poem that removed the apparently negative prefixes of words like 'inept', 'inert' and 'uncouth' to make new words: 'ept', 'ert' and 'couth'. I've searched for the poem since, but no luck. Can anyone help?", The Guardian – cites "Gloss" by David McCord and "A Dream of Couth" in The Game of Words by Willard R. Espy
This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Unpaired word news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message An unpaired word is one that according to the usual rules of the language would appear to have a related word but does not Such words usually have a prefix or suffix that would imply that there is an antonym with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite If the prefix or suffix is negative such as dis or less the word can be called an orphaned negative Unpaired words can be the result of one of the words falling out of popular usage or can be created when only one word of a pair is borrowed from another language in either case yielding an accidental gap specifically a morphological gap Other unpaired words were never part of a pair their starting or ending phonemes by accident happen to match those of an existing morpheme leading to a reinterpretation The classification of a word as unpaired can be problematic as a word thought to be unattested might reappear in real world usage or be created for example through humorous back formation In some cases a paired word does exist but is quite rare or archaic no longer in general use Such words and particularly the back formations used as nonce words find occasional use in wordplay particularly light verse In EnglishWord Paired word s Notes on paired wordAwful Awless Not attestedDisambiguate Ambiguate Not attested Disambiguate derives from dis ambigu ous ate in the mid 20th centuryDiscomfit Comfit Not an antonym Comfit noun is a candy comprising a sugar coated nut or fruit From Old French confit from Latin confectum meaning put together Discomfit probably includes some conflation with discomfort Disgruntle Gruntle Humorous back formation circa 1938 Disgusting Gusting From Latin gustare meaning to taste antonym form appeared in Old French desgousterDisheveled Dishevelled Sheveled Shevelled Not attested Disheveled is from Old French deschevele Exasperate Asperate Synonym To make rough a similar connotation to exasperate s secondary meaning of increasing the intensity of pain Feckless Feckful Used in Scottish EnglishGormless Gormful Not attested Gormless derives from gaumless whose antonym gaumy is rare and highly region specific Improvisation Provisation Not attested as something created with forethought Impulsive Pulsive Rare Means tending to compel compulsory Incorrigible Corrigible Rare Typically describes the abstract such as a theory rather than a person citation needed Indomitable Domitable RareIneffable Effable RareInert Ert Not attested Inert is from Latin iners meaning without skill The corresponding Latin antonym ars is the source of English art which is not an antonym of inert Inflammable Flammable Synonym From Latin flammare meaning to catch fire Inflammable is from Latin inflammare meaning to cause to catch fire Antonym is nonflammable Innocent Nocent Rare Means harmful Innocuous Nocuous UncommonIrritate Ritate Not attestedNonchalant Chalant Humorous back formation popularized by platforms like TikTokNoncommittal Committal Not an antonym Committal noun means the process of sending someone to a mental institution Nonplussed Plussed Not attested Nonplussed is from Latin non plus meaning no more Nonsensical Sensical Rare Nonsensical is derived from nonsense Off putting Putting Not antonyms Overwhelm Underwhelm Whelm From Middle English whelmen meaning to turn over May mean to moderately impress in recent usage Postpone Prepone Used in Indian EnglishRebuttal Buttal Not attestedReckless Reckful Not attestedRepeat Peat Unrelated in meaning Means a soil formed of decomposition of plant matter Rueful Rueless Not attestedRuthless Ruthful Rare Means full of or causing sorrow Uncouth Couth Rare From Old English cunnan meaning well known or familiar Ungainly Gainly RareUnkempt Kempt Rare Kempt was replaced by passive participle combed as comb replaced kemb While unkempt extended to grooming and hygiene generally combed did not undergo the same extension Appears in the form well kempt Unruly Ruly RareUnscathed Scathed RareUnstinting Stinting RareUntoward Toward Not an antonym Untoward evolved from figurative alterations of toward involving deviation from norms toward acquired no similar figurative meanings Unwieldy Wieldy RareSee alsoAccidental gap Back formation Cranberry morpheme Defective verb other form of lexical gap Eggcorn False cognate Fossilization linguistics Polarity itemNotesWords not attested or very rare in English usage Jocular or facetious coinages as intentional back formation ReferencesInjeeli Prudent 2013 Mind Your Words Master the Art of Learning and Teaching Vocabulary Trafford on Demand Pub ISBN 978 1 4669 9131 6 OCLC 850242046 Orphaned negative Brewer s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable Retrieved 2021 10 05 Feckful Merriam Webster com Dictionary Merriam Webster Retrieved December 18 2020 Flammable vs Inflammable Merriam Webster com dictionary Merriam Webster Retrieved December 12 2020 Nocuous Merriam Webster Retrieved December 18 2020 Smith Luke What Does Chalant Mean And Is It a Real Word Wikiwhow Retrieved 16 January 2025 Committal Cambridge Dictionary Cambridge University Press Retrieved December 18 2020 What s Going On With Nonplussed Merriam Webster com Dictionary Merriam Webster Retrieved December 18 2020 Nonsense Merriam Webster com Dictionary Merriam Webster Retrieved January 18 2022 Whelmen Middle English Compendium Whelm Merriam Webster com dictionary Merriam Webster Retrieved 2020 12 18 Words We re Watching Prepone Merriam Webster Retrieved December 18 2020 Ruthful Merriam Webster com Dictionary Merriam Webster Retrieved December 18 2020 External links Unpaired words at World Wide Words Absent antonyms at 2Wheels The Return Words with no opposite equivalent posted by James Briggs on April 2 2003 at The Phrase Finder Brev Is the Soul of Wit Ben Schott The New York Times April 19 2010 Parker J H The Mystery of The Vanished Positive in Daily Mail Annual for Boys and Girls 1953 Ed French S Daily Mail London pp 42 43 article on the topic ending in a short poem A Very Descript Man usurped using humorous opposites of unpaired words Jack Winter How I Met My Wife The New Yorker July 25 1994 p 82 uses many unpaired words for humorous effect Semantic Enigmas I once read a nonsense poem that removed the apparently negative prefixes of words like inept inert and uncouth to make new words ept ert and couth I ve searched for the poem since but no luck Can anyone help The Guardian cites Gloss by David McCord and A Dream of Couth in The Game of Words by Willard R Espy
