Definitions for opposition
ˌɒp əˈzɪʃ ənop·po·si·tion

Princeton's WordNet(2.75 / 8 votes)Rate this definition:

1. resistance, opposition(noun)

   the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with

   "he encountered a general feeling of resistance from many citizens"; "despite opposition from the newspapers he went ahead"

2. opposition, oppositeness(noun)

   the relation between opposed entities

3. confrontation, opposition(noun)

   the act of hostile groups opposing each other

   "the government was not ready for a confrontation with the unions"; "the invaders encountered stiff opposition"

4. opposition, opponent, opposite(noun)

   a contestant that you are matched against

5. opposition(noun)

   a body of people united in opposing something

6. opposition(noun)

   a direction opposite to another

7. enemy, foe, foeman, opposition(noun)

   an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)

   "a soldier must be prepared to kill his enemies"

8. Opposition(noun)

   the major political party opposed to the party in office and prepared to replace it if elected

   "Her Majesty's loyal opposition"

Wiktionary(3.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. opposition(Noun)

   The action of opposing or of being in conflict.

   Etymology: From oposicion (whence opposition), from oppositio (translating Greek ἀντίθεσις), from the past participle stem of classical opponere.

2. opposition(Noun)

   An opposite or contrasting position.

   Etymology: From oposicion (whence opposition), from oppositio (translating Greek ἀντίθεσις), from the past participle stem of classical opponere.

3. opposition(Noun)

   An opponent in some form of competition.

   Etymology: From oposicion (whence opposition), from oppositio (translating Greek ἀντίθεσις), from the past participle stem of classical opponere.

4. opposition(Noun)

   The apparent relative position of two celestial bodies when one is at an angle of 180 degrees from the other as seen from the Earth.

   Etymology: From oposicion (whence opposition), from oppositio (translating Greek ἀντίθεσις), from the past participle stem of classical opponere.

5. opposition(Noun)

   A political party opposed to the party or government in power.

   Etymology: From oposicion (whence opposition), from oppositio (translating Greek ἀντίθεσις), from the past participle stem of classical opponere.

6. opposition(Noun)

   In United States intellectual property law, a proceeding in which an interested party seeks to prevent the registration of a trademark or patent.

   Etymology: From oposicion (whence opposition), from oppositio (translating Greek ἀντίθεσις), from the past participle stem of classical opponere.

7. opposition(Noun)

   A position in which the player on the move must yield with his king allowing his opponent to advance with his own king.

   Etymology: From oposicion (whence opposition), from oppositio (translating Greek ἀντίθεσις), from the past participle stem of classical opponere.

Freebase(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Opposition

   Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state. The title of "Official Opposition" usually goes to the largest of the parties sitting in opposition with its leader being given the title "Leader of the Opposition". In First Past the Post assemblies, where the tendency to gravitate into two major parties or party groupings operates strongly, government and opposition roles can go to the two main groupings serially in alternation. In this context, the opposition forms a recognised, even semi-official "government-in-waiting". Its "opposing" can degenerate into a charade pending the eventual exchange of roles and occupation, or reoccupation, of the Treasury benches. The more proportional a representative system, the greater the likelihood of multiple political parties appearing in the parliamentary debating chamber. Such systems can foster multiple "opposition" parties which may have little in common and minimal desire to form a united bloc opposed to the government of the day.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Opposition

   op-ō-zish′un, n. state of being placed over against: position over against: repugnance: contrariety: contrast: act or action of opposing: resistance: that which opposes: obstacle: (logic) a difference of quantity or quality between two propositions having the same subject and predicate: the party that opposes the ministry or existing administration: (astron.) the situation of heavenly bodies when 180 degrees apart.—n. Opposi′tionist, one who belongs to an opposing party, esp. that opposed to the government. [Opposite.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. opposition

   A celestial body is said to be in opposition to the sun when their longitudes differ 180°, or half the circumference of the heavens.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'opposition' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1072

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'opposition' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2919

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'opposition' in Nouns Frequency: #496

How to pronounce opposition?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say opposition in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of opposition in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of opposition in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of opposition in a Sentence

1. Roddy Barclay:

   Any boycott risks further marginalizing the opposition which will have to resort to street politics to get its voice heard.

2. Darren Urquhart:

   The idea came from witnessing some bad habits that school kids have picked up from the increased coverage of global football, we've seen kids brandish imaginary red cards towards the referee in an attempt to get an opposition player sent off. And also blatantly diving to win penalties.

3. Sam Peach:

   His opposition to austerity is the thing for me. He's the only one to openly say that what's going on with this Conservative government is an ideological decision, and it's not something that has to happen.

4. Zionist Union leader:

   The reality is clear, the reality dictates that we will be in opposition and will be an alternative on each issue.

5. Kwasi Kwarteng:

   He's the most unpopular leader of the opposition we've ever had and the idea that he's going to lead a unity government I think is ridiculous.

Images & Illustrations of opposition

Popularity rank by frequency of use