United and Untied Are the Same Letters
To unite is to join together. Its most famous anagram means precisely the opposite.
To unite is to come or bring together to form a whole. *United* and *untied* use exactly the same letters and mean opposite things, which makes them the classic English example of an antigram — an anagram whose result contradicts the original. Spell checkers cannot catch the swap, since both are real words, and it appears in print more often than anyone would like. Latin *unire*, to make one, from *unus*, is the root.
- To join together. *Unite the parties.*
- United — joined. *United.*
- Untied — the anagram. *Untied.*
- Unity — the state of being one. *Unity.*
- Latin — *unire*, to make one. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | unite | Unite. |
| Past | united | United. |
| Noun | unity | Unity. |
| Adjective | unified | Unified. |
| Anagram | untied | Untied. |
- The crisis united the country.Joining.
- United and untied share letters.Wordplay.
- Unire means to make one.Etymology.
Antigrams and near-misses
- United / untied — the classic pair
- Funeral / real fun — a much-quoted antigram
- Astronomer / moon starer — an anagram, not an antigram
- Listen / silent — related but not opposite
- Spell checkers miss them because both spellings are valid words
Latin *unire*, to make one, from *unus*, one.
What is an antigram?
An anagram whose rearranged letters produce a meaning opposite to the original, as united and untied do.
Why do spell checkers miss the error?
Because untied is a perfectly valid word. Only a grammar or context check can catch the swap.