Don’t you love it when you stumble across something that makes you stop and say
wow, that’s really quite cool?

This happened to me the other day, as I was searching for the right verb to use while trying to nut out the framework for a short story I’m writing.

Which verb, I hear you ask? Well, it’s the word, cleave. Now on its own and without investigation, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a pretty standard word.

However, and here comes the WOW factor, the word cleave has two meanings that are the exact opposite of each other – it’s an antonym of itself. Have I wowed you yet?

According to the Macquarie Dictionary, the word cleave means both
‘to separate or sever; to render apart or split, especially along a natural line of division’ AND ‘to stick or adhere; cling or hold fast to’.

Like I said, WOW.