What is the opposite word of "not"?

Counterexample? I can't think of one, offhand - but "not" is a pretty complex word, in its usage.

It may not have an opposite, as expressions of quality (rather than value) often do not.

Meanwhile, I'm fond of truly.
 
I like "so". But it strikes me as mostly a childhood usage. Very informal. I think I use the slightly more acceptable "too".
 
To me, the title is asking for the opposite word of "not", not of every word in the English language. :confused:
 
Athelwulf: Yes. You are correct. I was "overly" assuming that iceaura was "assuming" that every word must have an opposite. "Not" does not have a direct one-to-one corresponding opposite. Nor, do many other words - perhaps the majority of words do not have a "direct one-to-one corresponding opposite."
 
I always have a problem negating "used to". As in I used to skate on the lake in the winter, when I was a child.

How do you say the opposite of it? I don't mean "I never skated..." because I occasionally did, just saying that it didn't happen oftentimes? I guess it would be "sometimes I skated..." but that doesn't sound as a pure negative...
 
valich said:
"Not" does not have a direct one-to-one corresponding opposite.
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I doubt any general language (non-technical) word has a direct, one to one corresponding "opposite".

This is informal, no? We may toy and play, even in these august forums?

"So" carries not only a tangential slanginess, but more inappropriate emphasis than "truly" - "You are so busted" has connotations that are not "opposite" of "you are not busted".

"Truly" feels a bit awkward - but use of it in place of "not" seems to produce something very like the opposite meaning and approximate emphasis, etc.
 
Syzygys said:
I always have a problem negating "used to". As in I used to skate on the lake in the winter, when I was a child.
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"I used to not skate on the lake in the winter when I was a child."

Syzygys said:
How do you say the opposite of it? I don't mean "I never skated..." because I occasionally did, just saying that it didn't happen oftentimes?
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"I didn't use to skate often on the lake in the winter when I was a child." I guess.

Or, "I used to not skate often on the lake in the winter when I was a child."
 
"I used to not skate" should not be uttered in English. You ought to change it to "I never used to skate" or "I seldom used to skate".
 
Speaking of hangups, we're getting hung up on the meaning of "opposite." Esperanto has a prefix that actually means "opposite": mal-. It's instructive to see how it works. Varma means "hot." Malvarma tago is a "cold day," i.e. weather that requires bundling up, not just a "day that is not hot," i.e. one that is comfortable because you won't get a sunburn. That is just the "negative," not the "opposite."

Notice that in language, unlike Boolean logic, "negative" and "opposite" are not the same thing. The opposite of "John is rich" is "John is poor." To say the negative, "John is not rich," does not mean that he is poor.
 
Wouldn't 'not', being a negative, mean it's opposite is a positive?

The opposite of rich is poor. The opposite of hard is soft.
The opposite of existence is the null. Right? Or would it be antimatter?
 
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