What does opposite mean?
Definitions for opposite
ˈɒp ə zɪt, -sɪtop·po·site
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word opposite.
Princeton's WordNet
antonym, opposite word, oppositenoun
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'"
reverse, contrary, oppositenoun
a relation of direct opposition
"we thought Sue was older than Bill but just the reverse was true"
opposition, opponent, oppositenoun
a contestant that you are matched against
inverse, oppositeadjective
something inverted in sequence or character or effect
"when the direct approach failed he tried the inverse"
oppositeadjective
being directly across from each other; facing
"And I on the opposite shore will be, ready to ride and spread the alarm"- Longfellow; "we lived on opposite sides of the street"; "at opposite poles"
opposite, pairedadjective
of leaves etc; growing in pairs on either side of a stem
"opposite leaves"
oppositeadjective
moving or facing away from each other
"looking in opposite directions"; "they went in opposite directions"
oppositeadjective
the other one of a complementary pair
"the opposite sex"; "the two chess kings are set up on squares of opposite colors"
oppositeadjective
altogether different in nature or quality or significance
"the medicine's effect was opposite to that intended"; "it is said that opposite characters make a union happiest"- Charles Reade
diametric, diametrical, opposite, polaradverb
characterized by opposite extremes; completely opposed
"in diametric contradiction to his claims"; "diametrical (or opposite) points of view"; "opposite meanings"; "extreme and indefensible polar positions"
face-to-face, oppositeadverb
directly facing each other
"the two photographs lay face-to-face on the table"; "lived all their lives in houses face-to-face across the street"; "they sat opposite at the table"
GCIDE
oppositeadjective
Situated on the other end of an imaginary line passing through or near the middle of an intervening space or object; -- of one object with respect to another; as, the office is on the opposite side of town; -- also used both to describe two objects with respect to each other; as, the stores were on opposite ends of the mall.
oppositeadjective
Applied to the other of two things which are entirely different; other; as, the opposite sex; the opposite extreme; antonyms have opposite meanings.
Oppositenoun
That which is opposed or contrary in character or meaning; as, sweetness and its opposite; up is the opposite of down.
Wiktionary
oppositenoun
something opposite or contrary to another
oppositenoun
an opponent
oppositenoun
an antonym
"Up" is the opposite of "down".
oppositenoun
an additive inverse
oppositeadverb
In an opposite position.
I was on my seat and she stood opposite.
oppositeadjective
located directly across from something else, or from each other
She saw him walking on the opposite side of the road.
oppositeadjective
facing in the other direction
They were moving in opposite directions.
oppositeadjective
of either of two complementary or mutually exclusive things
He has a lot of success with the opposite sex.
oppositepreposition
facing, or across from
He lives opposite the pub.
oppositepreposition
in a complementary role to
He played opposite Marilyn Monroe.
Etymology: From oppositus, perfect passive participle of oppono.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
OPPOSITEadjective
Etymology: opposite, Fr. oppositus, Lat.
To th’ other five,
Their planetary motions and aspects,
In sextile, square, trine and opposite,
Of noxious efficacy. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. x.Nothing of a foreign nature, like the trifling novels, by which the reader is misled into another sort of pleasure, opposite to that which is designed in an epick poem. Dryd.
This is a prospect very uneasy to the lusts and passions, and opposite to the strongest desires of flesh and blood. John Rogers.
In this fallen state of man religion begins with repentance and conversion, the two opposite terms of which are God and sin. John Tillotson, Serm. 1.
Particles of speech have divers, and sometimes almost opposite significations. John Locke.
Oppositenoun
Adversary; opponent; antagonist; enemy.
To the best and wisest, while they live, the world is continually a froward opposite, a curious observer of their defects and imperfections; their virtues it afterwards as much admireth. Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 7.
He is the most skilful, bloody, and fatal opposite that you could have found in Illyria. William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.
The knight whom fate or happy chance
Shall grace his arms so far in equal fight,
From out the bars to force his opposite,
The prize of valour and of love shall gain. Dryden.
Wikipedia
Opposite
Opposite is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, released as the third single from the band's sixth studio album, Opposites (2013), on 24 June 2013. It made number 49 on the Official UK singles chart.
ChatGPT
opposite
Opposite refers to a position, direction, idea, or action that is contrary or completely different from another. It can characterizes things, places, individuals, or concepts that differ totally in their nature, characteristics, qualities, properties, or directions. This term can also imply a reversal or contradiction of a previously existing situation or condition. It could mean being on the other side or end, facing against something, or behaving in a contrasting manner.
Wikidata
Opposite
In lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not the other pair member. For example, something that is long entails that it is not short. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members in a set of opposites. The relationship between opposites is known as opposition. A member of a pair of opposites can generally be determined by the question What is the opposite of X ? The term antonym is commonly taken to be synonymous with opposite, but antonym also has other more restricted meanings. Graded antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite and which lie on a continuous spectrum. Complementary antonyms are word pairs whose meanings are opposite but whose meanings do not lie on a continuous spectrum. Relational antonyms are word pairs where opposite makes sense only in the context of the relationship between the two meanings. These more restricted meanings may not apply in all scholarly contexts, with Lyons defining antonym to mean gradable antonyms, and Crystal warns that antonymy and antonym should be regarded with care.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Opposite
op′ō-zit, adj. placed over against: standing in front: situated on opposite sides: contrasted with: opposed to: of an entirely different nature.—n. that which is opposed or contrary: an opponent.—adv. Opp′ositely.—n. Opp′ositeness.—Be opposite with (Shak.), to be perverse and contradictory in dealing with. [Fr.,—L. oppositus—ob, against, ponĕre, positum, to place.]
Entomology
Opposite
placed over against, or opposed to.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'opposite' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3222
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'opposite' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2261
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'opposite' in Nouns Frequency: #2783
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'opposite' in Adjectives Frequency: #422
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of opposite in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of opposite in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of opposite in a Sentence
It certainly shows a breakdown in communications that is troubling because the president is commander in chief and (Defense) Secretary (James) Mattis apparently, according to press reports — I haven't an official briefing on it yet — told him that this carrier and the destroyers were headed towards North Korea as a show of force when in fact they were headed in the completely opposite direction to Australia, and it's troubling if we don't know where our assets are. It's also so surprising. Every time I have seen that map that shows where our naval assets are, believe me, the Pentagon knows exactly where they are. So I suspect there was some sort of just terrible miscommunication but it should not have occurred.
The cardinal rule of deterrence is to convince your opponent that the cost of his hostile action will by far outweigh the benefits, and President Joe Biden has done the exact opposite.
Police Commissioner Richard Ross:
If you think about it logically, that if a business calls and they say that someone is here that I no longer wish to be in my business, they (the officers) now have a legal obligation to carry out their duties. And they did just that, they were professional in all their dealings with these gentlemen, and instead they got the opposite back.
I feel bad that I'm not there, i know my perspective on these things is the complete opposite to so many people. But I feel a responsibility, I feel like I need to do it because I have the tools to cover war, and because I've done it for so many years.
Blaming Trump for the Iran policy impasse is old news, the Biden administration promised early in 2021 to make sure politics stops at water’s edge. Going to Israel and invoking the evolving Iranian nuclear threat as being the result of his predecessor does the exact opposite.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for opposite
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- على العكس, آخر, ضد, مقابلArabic
- супрацьле́глыBelarusian
- противополо́женBulgarian
- contrari, oposatCatalan, Valencian
- protilehlý, opak, opačný, protiklad, proti, druhý, naprotiCzech
- cyferbynWelsh
- over for, modsatDanish
- andere, entgegengesetzt, gegenüber, gegenüberliegend, GegenteilGerman
- απέναντι, αντώνυμοGreek
- kontraŭeEsperanto
- opuestoSpanish
- ضد, درمقابلPersian
- vastapäinen, opponentti, vastapäätä, vastaväittäjä, vastanäyttelijänä, vastustaja, vastakohta, antonyymi, vastakkainenFinnish
- adversaire, contraire, en face, opposé, en face deFrench
- urchomhaireach, ar aghaidhIrish
- fa chomhairScottish Gaelic
- ממולHebrew
- सामनेHindi
- ellentétes, túlsó, szembenlevőHungarian
- հակառակըArmenian
- opposta, oppostoItalian
- מולHebrew
- 反対, 向かい側, あべこべ, 逆くJapanese
- ವಿರುದ್ದKannada
- 반대Korean
- oppositumLatin
- GéigendeelLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- വിപരീതം, എതിർMalayalam
- tegenstander, tegenovergestelde, tegenovergesteld, tegenoverliggend, tegenoverDutch
- motsattNorwegian
- sprzeczność, przeciwny, przeciwnik, przeciwieństwo, przeciwniczka, naprzeciwko, przeciwległyPolish
- antónimo, oposto, na frente dePortuguese
- opusă, opusRomanian
- противополо́жный, напротивRussian
- विपरीतम्Sanskrit
- suprotan, супротанSerbo-Croatian
- protiľahlýSlovak
- mittemot, motsatt, motsatsSwedish
- எதிர்Tamil
- వ్యతిరేకి, వ్యతిరేకం, వ్యతిరేక పదంTelugu
- ตรงข้ามThai
- zıt, karşıTurkish
- протиле́жнийUkrainian
- سامنےUrdu
- פאַרקערטYiddish
- 相反Chinese
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"opposite." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/opposite>.
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