Oxycretin

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An Oxycretin is a word that, when one particular letter is removed, reverts to the opposite meaning of the original word. For example, if one removes the "c" from the word "Charm", one ends up with "Harm" - its opposite.

This semi-serious name is derived from the related word Oxymoron, which is the pairing of (usually two) opposite words and has been made popular by the inclusion of a chapter dedicated to this linguistic phenomenon in the book Words Fail Me by Teresa Monachino (Phaidon, ISBN 978-0-7148-4635-4.)

Further Reading:

Words Fail Me Article in Foreword Magazine about Words Fail Me

List of Oxycretins

Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics

See also:

• Oxymoron
• figure of speech
• Word Play