A word that describes when, in speech, you intentionally use the opposite word. (ex. bad for something really good)

Question

I remember when i was growing up we had many slang methods of describing things using the opposite terms. It wasn't always as simple as saying "bad" for something "good," but it seemed to be an expansion and variation on that.

Here are some examples:

"My mom made a cake for my birthday, and it was so crappy"

"Man, this test is great."

"Did you see her win the 50 yard dash? she's slow."

Is there a word for this?

If I had to coin a term to return to by short-hand in an essay describing that sort of ironic use of a word to mean it's antonym, I'd call them "flipped-adjectives". — Tom22, Jan 06 '17 at 04:15

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 05 '17 at 21:47

1

Consider **antiphrasis**.

Definition from MW: the usually ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to the generally accepted meanings (as in “this giant of 3 feet 4 inches”)

answered Jan 05 '17 at 21:47

Graffito

13,201

A quick search for 'antiphrasis' is the obvious way to check for a duplicate. Sadly, you posted before I did. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 05 '17 at 21:50

A word that describes when, in speech, you intentionally use the opposite word. (ex. bad for something really good)

1 Answers1