[
US
/ˈɑpəzət, ˈɑpzət/
]
[ UK /ˈɒpəsˌɪt/ ]
[ UK /ˈɒpəsˌɪt/ ]
ADJECTIVE
-
characterized by opposite extremes; completely opposed
opposite meanings
extreme and indefensible polar positions
diametrical (or opposite) points of view
in diametric contradiction to his claims -
being directly across from each other; facing
at opposite poles
we lived on opposite sides of the street
And I on the opposite shore will be, ready to ride and spread the alarm -
moving or facing away from each other
they went in opposite directions
looking in opposite directions -
the other one of a complementary pair
the two chess kings are set up on squares of opposite colors
the opposite sex -
altogether different in nature or quality or significance
it is said that opposite characters make a union happiest
the medicine's effect was opposite to that intended -
of leaves etc; growing in pairs on either side of a stem
opposite leaves
NOUN
-
a relation of direct opposition
we thought Sue was older than Bill but just the reverse was true -
a word that expresses a meaning opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other
to him the antonym of `gay' was `depressed' - a contestant that you are matched against
-
something inverted in sequence or character or effect
when the direct approach failed he tried the inverse
ADVERB
-
directly facing each other
the two photographs lay face-to-face on the table
they sat opposite at the table
lived all their lives in houses face-to-face across the street
How To Use opposite In A Sentence
- The opposite change occurs in what are termed fastigiate varieties, where the branches, in place of assuming more or less of a horizontal direction, become erect and nearly parallel with the main stem as in the Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants
- In the receding angle below the chin is the hyoid bone, and the finger can be carried along the bone to the tip of the greater cornu, which is on a level with the angle of the mandible: the greater cornu is most readily appreciated by making pressure on one side, when the cornu of the opposite side will be rendered prominent and can be felt distinctly beneath the skin. XII. Surface Anatomy and Surface Markings. 1. Surface Anatomy of the Head and Neck
- The magnificent 18 th-century mansion is set in private landscaped grounds at the edge of the town, opposite the golf links and West Sands but totally screened by trees, woods and 18-foot high lodge gates.
- Jim had hustled over quietly and begun to help out with the horseshoeing, expecting ridicule from the likes of Hugh Glass or old Zeke Williams, who had just arrived at the rendezvous, but, to his surprise, the fact that he was married to a woman of such pure fire produced the very opposite of the effect he had feared. The Berrybender Narratives
- by lawful/legal means. Lawful tends to be used in technical or literary contexts. The same is true of the opposites, unlawful and illegal, but illegal is used especially about criminal activities. Legal also means 'connected with the law':the US legal system.
- As Locke and Jean stumbled to their feet, the door on the wall opposite the window slammed open, and in stepped a broad-shouldered man with the slablike muscles of a stevedore or a smith. Archive 2008-07-01
- This kind of discourse is at the opposite pole from storytelling as defined by Benjamin.
- The next morning we passed a large island, opposite to which on the north is a large and beautiful prairie, called Sauk prairie, the land being fine and well timbered on both sides the river. History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the Sources of the Missouri, Thence Across the Rocky Mountains and Down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean
- Just as Peter Crouch the binman may find his lanky frame considerably less alluring to the opposite sex. Archive 2009-07-01
- Indeed, there's reason to hope that even the most benighted moral equivocators may come to realize that the message is the exact opposite of the one they've been preaching.
