What does "opposite" mean?
Opposite: Applied to the other of two things which are entirely different; other; as, the opposite sex; the opposite extreme.
Additional senses
- 2.Extremely different; inconsistent; contrary; repugnant; antagonistic. Novels, by which the reader is misled into another sort of pieasure opposite to that which is designed in an epic poem. Dryden. Particles of speech have divers, and sometimes almost opposite, significations. Locke.
- 3.(Bot.) (a) Set over against each other, but separated by the whole diameter of the stem, as two leaves at the same node. (b) Placed directly in front of another part or organ, as a stamen which stands before a petal.
- 4.One who opposes; an opponent; an antagonist. [Obs.] The opposites of this day's strife. Shak.
- 5.That which is opposed or contrary; as, sweetness and its opposite. The virtuous man meets with more opposites and opponents than any other. Landor.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00