Would this work (I'm not a native speaker):

It wasn't scorched to the ground; it was only scorched.

Marie
France

> sanction-to endorse, hallow
> sanction-to impose penalty
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Bruce Despain
>   To: [log in to unmask]
>   Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 1:32 PM
>   Subject: Re: Words that are their own opposites
>
>
>   The list is very interesting with regard to how context and pragmatics
> help with the interpretation of so many of these words.  Some of the
> example sentences seem ridiculous to me in the sense that there is no
> context to tell about how to interpret the words.  Some of them are
> ambiguous .  The first one has a clue that (1) is an abstract noun,
> whereas (2) is a concrete count noun.  Since lack of oversight generally
> does not cause oversights directly, perhaps a better example would take
> advantage of these syntactic attributes:  "Management made an oversight
> in not providing enough oversight."    Dictionary definitions rarely
> provide us with exact synonyms.
>
>
>
>   From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dick Veit
>   Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 12:01 PM
>   To: [log in to unmask]
>   Subject: Words that are their own opposites
>
>
>
>   On a less weighty note, my colleague Todd Berliner has been collecting
> words with seemingly contradictory definitions. I've copied his list
> below. Can anyone supply further examples?
>
>   Words That Are Their Own Opposites
>
>
>
>   oversight
>
>      1. Watchful care or management; supervision.
>
>      2. a failure to notice something. An unintentional omission or
> mistake.  an error
>
>   "Because there was no oversight there was an oversight."
>
>
>
>   presently
>
>   1. In a short time; soon
>
>   2. At this time or period; now
>
>   "He will do it presently, because he can't do it presently."
>
>
>
>   cull
>
>   1. To gather; collect
>
>   2. To remove rejected members or parts from
>
>   "We culled the chickens so that they would not be culled"
>
>
>
>   traffic
>
>   1. passage
>
>   2. stoppage
>
>   "Because there was so much traffic there was no traffic"
>
>
>
>   fearsome
>
>   1. Causing or capable of causing fear
>
>   2. Fearful; timid.
>
>   "Because we weren't fearsome enough, we were fearsome"
>
>
>
>   temper
>
>   1. a tendency to become angry or out of control
>
>   2. Calmness of mind or emotions; composure
>
>   "He had a temper because he often lost his temper"
>
>
>
>   let
>
>   1. to not prevent or hinder
>
>   2. to hinder (as in tennis "a let")
>
>   "Let him go to the movies; don't let him from going"
>
>
>
>   bolt
>
>   1. affix, attach, connect
>
>   2. to flee
>
>   "They bolted because they weren't bolted."
>
>
>
>   terrific
>
>   1. Very bad or unpleasant; frightful: a terrific headache
>
>   2. Very good or fine; splendid: a terrific tennis player
>
>   "It was a terrific experience because there was nothing terrific about
> it."
>
>
>
>   cleave
>
>      1. to join together
>
>      2. to break apart
>
>   "We cleaved them so tightly that no one could cleave them."
>
>
>
>   I can think of an addition to Todd's list:
>
>   awful: 1. Awe-inspiring. 2. Disdain-provoking. "The mystic thought it
> would be god-awful not to experience God's awful presence in the
> hereafter."
>
>
>   and maybe also:
>
>   unlockable: 1. Not lockable. 2. Able to be unlocked. "Before we locked
> the door, it seemed unlockable; then it seemed unlockable.
>
>   Any others?
>
>   Dick Veit
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