OPPOSITE | Meaning In The Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of opposite in English oppositeadjective uk /ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/ us /ˈɑː.pə.zɪt/

opposite adjective (DIFFERENT)

Add to word list Add to word list B2 completely different: opposite to You'd never know they're sisters - they're completely opposite to each other in every way.opposite effect Police attempts to calm the violence had the opposite effect. completely different

• oppositeTheir two daughters may look alike, but they are completely opposite to one another.
• polar oppositesLove and hate are polar opposites.
• antitheticalHis actions were absolutely antithetical to our code of conduct.
• converseIf we ask what a citizen must sacrifice for the good of the nation, we must ask the converse question: what will the nation sacrifice for the good of its citizens?

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• The two politicians have diametrically opposite points of view.
• Two of the president's chief advisors have staked out opposite positions on this issue.
• He held the opposite view to his brother.
• The witnesses gave opposite accounts of who caused the accident.
• The movie was supposed to be scary, but it had the opposite effect on him.

Opposites

• antinome
• antithesis
• antithetical
• antonymous
• antonymy
• converse
• counterpose
• countervailing force
• diametric
• diametrical
• dichotomist
• flip side
• inversely
• inversion
• negation
• opposed
• or otherwise idiom
• otherwise
• polar
• pole

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opposite adjective (FACING)

B1 being in a position on the other side; facing: My brother and I live on opposite sides of the city. The map on the opposite page shows where these birds commonly breed.opposite (to/from) They sat at opposite ends of the table (to/from each other), refusing to talk. facing the speaker or stated person or thing: If you want to buy tickets, you need to go to the counter opposite. Who owns that house opposite (= on the other side of the road)? sport   specialized In baseball, the opposite field is the right side of the field for a right-handed batter (= the person who hits the ball) or the left side of the field for a left-handed batter: He hit a home run to the opposite field. Wilson hit the pitch the opposite way for a single.

• "No, go that way, " I said, pointing in the opposite direction.
• These two men might be thought to represent the opposite poles of economic ideology.
• By the time we reached the opposite bank, the boat was sinking fast.
• Firmly secure the two uprights to opposite walls in the alcove and then slot the shelves in between them.
• They drove away in opposite directions.

Through, across, opposite and against

• across
• across country idiom
• against
• agin
• along
• catty-corner
• country
• cross
• front
• give onto something phrasal verb
• kitty-corner
• on
• opposed
• other
• over
• over here
• overland
• through
• thru
• unblock

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Baseball & rounders oppositepreposition uk /ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/ us /ˈɑː.pə.zɪt/ A2 in a position facing someone or something but on the other side: We're in the building opposite the government offices. They sat opposite each other. Put a tick opposite (= next to) the answer that you think is correct.  act/play/star opposite someone to act a part in a film or play with someone as a partner: Katharine Hepburn played opposite Henry Fonda in many films. See more

• We're in the very modern-looking building opposite the station.
• I live bang opposite the cinema.
• A thin, bearded man sat opposite me on the train.
• The woman seated opposite him refused to stop staring at him.
• The women sitting opposite us were gazing admiringly at baby Joe.

Through, across, opposite and against

• across
• across country idiom
• against
• agin
• along
• catty-corner
• country
• cross
• front
• give onto something phrasal verb
• kitty-corner
• on
• opposed
• other
• over
• over here
• overland
• through
• thru
• unblock

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Grammar

Opposite or in front of?Opposite as a preposition means ‘in a position facing someone or something but on the other side’: … oppositenoun [ C often singular ] uk /ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/ us /ˈɑː.pə.zɪt/ B1 something or someone that is completely different from another person or thing: the opposite My father is a very calm person, but my mother is just the opposite.the exact opposite She's turned out to be the exact opposite of what everyone expected.the opposite of The opposite of "fast" is "slow".opposites attract People say opposites attract. Synonyms antonym specialized the inverse formalCompare synonym

• While claiming to promote positive images of women, advertisers are in fact doing the very opposite.
• She's very thoughtful - the direct opposite of her sister.
• No, I'm not tired. Rather the opposite in fact.
• What's the opposite of 'steep'?
• I don't dislike him - quite the opposite, actually.

Opposites

• antinome
• antithesis
• antithetical
• antonymous
• antonymy
• converse
• counterpose
• countervailing force
• diametric
• diametrical
• dichotomist
• flip side
• inversely
• inversion
• negation
• opposed
• or otherwise idiom
• otherwise
• polar
• pole

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Grammar

OppositenessMost common adjectives are members of a pair of opposites (antonyms): … Gradable opposites (antonyms)The most common gradable adjectives can be grouped into pairs of opposites (antonyms) which refer to features like height: short – tall; heat: hot – cold, size; big – small, etc. These adjectives are at the upper and lower parts of an open-ended scale (a scale with no maximum or minimum): … oppositeadverb uk /ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/ us /ˈɑː.pə.zɪt/ B1 in a position facing someone or something but on the other side: She asked the man sitting opposite whether he'd mind if she opened the window. The people who live opposite (= on the other side of the road) are always making a lot of noise. Synonym face-to-face Compare in front

• I asked the woman opposite if I could use her phone.
• I was on the metro this morning when for no apparent reason the man opposite suddenly screamed.
• I went to the bank opposite.
• The house opposite is owned by an Italian family.
• The ball ended up in the field opposite.

Through, across, opposite and against

• across
• across country idiom
• against
• agin
• along
• catty-corner
• country
• cross
• front
• give onto something phrasal verb
• kitty-corner
• on
• opposed
• other
• over
• over here
• overland
• through
• thru
• unblock

See more results » (Definition of opposite from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

opposite | American Dictionary

oppositeadjective [ not gradable ] us /ˈɑp·ə·zɪt, -sɪt/

opposite adjective [not gradable] (DIFFERENT)

Add to word list Add to word list completely different: We turned and walked in the opposite direction. People often believe the exact opposite of what you tell them. His efforts to intimidate his enemies produced just the opposite effect (= made them braver). oppositepreposition, adjective, adverb [ not gradable ] us /ˈɑp·ə·zɪt, -sɪt/

opposite preposition, adjective, adverb [not gradable] (FACING)

being in a position on the other side; facing: The two settlements are on opposite sides of the river. We’re in the building opposite the gas station. She asked the man sitting opposite if she could borrow his newspaper. (Definition of opposite from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

opposite | Business English

oppositeadjective uk /ˈɒpəzɪt/ us Add to word list Add to word list completely different: opposite to sth This year's conference is completely opposite to last year's, which was very poorly attended. The new rates of pay were intended to increase staff morale, but they had the opposite effect. in a position on the other side to something: the opposite side/end/edge to sth We're on the opposite side of the city to the airport. facing you or facing someone or something: If you want to buy tickets, you need to go to the counter opposite. oppositepreposition uk /ˈɒpəzɪt/ us in a position facing someone or something but on the other side: We're in the building opposite the government offices. They sat opposite each other. oppositenoun [ C, usually singular ] uk /ˈɒpəzɪt/ us something or someone that is completely different from another person or thing: the opposite of sth/sb She tends to do the opposite of what people expect. The new CEO is the exact opposite of his predecessor. We thought negotiations would be easy, but they were just the opposite. oppositeadverb uk /ˈɒpəzɪt/ us in a position facing someone or something but on the other side: The offices will be on this side of the road, and the warehouse will be built opposite. (Definition of opposite from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of opposite

opposite The opposite direction was created by reversing the order. From the Cambridge English Corpus This apparent discrepancy actually makes sense under the view that both experiments capture opposite sides of children's understanding of indirect requests. From the Cambridge English Corpus The opposite direction of this implication, that is, the completeness of the logical relations with respect to contextual equivalence remains future work. From the Cambridge English Corpus If central powers tended to do the same for opposite reasons, their attitude towards non-bureaucratic opinion alternated between indifference and hostility. From the Cambridge English Corpus But the government's judgement was quite the opposite. From the Cambridge English Corpus Cells of opposite polarity to the central reference cell are shown in red and those of the same polarity in green. From the Cambridge English Corpus However, the opposite trend, albeit diminished, was seen at the soma, where the unconfined distribution was more effective than the clustered distribution. From the Cambridge English Corpus A control of order -1 has the opposite behaviour: a direct relationship between rate of change of the control's value and the dimension's value. From the Cambridge English Corpus In the most general sense, these limits are the limits of generalization, in opposite directions. From the Cambridge English Corpus Indeed, he takes pains on every one of these counts to show that the opposite is closer to the truth. From the Cambridge English Corpus I showed that finite control demonstrates the opposite problem of resource surplus. From the Cambridge English Corpus Here time discipline is put to the service not of virtuous self-culture, but the opposite, the degradation of the operatives as moral beings. From the Cambridge English Corpus The changes in spectral sensitivity associated with this interference can be substantial, because the effects on the signals from the two cone types are opposite. From the Cambridge English Corpus The literature is full of unproven claims about what is a good feature - and equally blunt statements to the opposite. From the Cambridge English Corpus These scholars rarely consider the opposite-that these writings may not actually be disseminated to the population at large in a manner that is sociopolitically consequential. From the Cambridge English Corpus These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with opposite

opposite

These are words often used in combination with opposite.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

absolute oppositeThat is the absolute opposite of the truth. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   binary oppositesIt helps to reinforce binary opposites: us and them, self and other, objective and subjective, general and local. From the Cambridge English Corpus   complete oppositeIt is the complete opposite of the instinctive human reaction to pain: the deliberate, conscious attempt to feel as much physical anguish as possible. From the Cambridge English Corpus   These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. See all collocations with opposite What is the pronunciation of opposite?

Translations of opposite

in Chinese (Traditional) 不同的, 全然不同的，迥異的，截然相反的, 對面的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 不同的, 全然不同的，迥异的，截然相反的, 对面的… See more in Spanish opuesto, enfrente de, frente a… See more in Portuguese oposto, contrário, no lado oposto (de)… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian विरूध्द, दुसऱ्या बाजू कडील, समोरील… See more 反対の, 逆の, （～の）向かい側に… See more karşısında, karşı tarafında, tamamen farklı/ayrı/değişik… See more opposé/-ée, en face de, contraire [masculine]… See more oposat, contrari, davant (per davant) (de)… See more tegenovergesteld, tegenover, tegendeel… See more முற்றிலும் வேறுபட்டது, மறுபுறம் ஒரு நிலையில் இருப்பது, எதிர்கொள்ளும்… See more विपरीत, उल्टा, (अवस्थिति या दिशा में) विपरीत… See more વિપરીત, સામે, સામેનું… See more modsat, over for… See more motsatt, andra [sidan], andra [hållet]… See more bertentangan, seberang sana, berlawanan… See more gegenüberliegend, entgegengesetzt, gegenüber… See more motsatt, motstridende, rett overfor… See more مخالف, قطعی مختلف, برعکس… See more розташований навпроти, протилежний, зворотний… See more ప్రతికూల /వ్యతిరేక, పూర్తిగా వేరు, రెండవ వైపున్న స్థానంలో ఉండటం… See more বিপরীত, মুখোমুখি, উল্টো দিক… See more opačný, naproti, opak… See more seberang, berlawanan, kebalikan… See more ซึ่งอยู่คนละด้าน, แตกต่างอย่างสิ้นเชิง, ตรงกันข้าม… See more đối lập, hoàn toàn khác nhau, đối diện… See more przeciwny, drugi, sąsiedni… See more 반대편의, 정반대의, 건너편에… See more opposto, contrario, di fronte (a)… See more Need a translator?

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oppose opposed opposed bid opposing opposite opposite number opposite sex oppositely BETA opposition {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of opposite

• opposite sex
• opposite number
• act/play/star opposite someone phrase
• the opposite sex
• be different/opposite sides of the same coin, at be two sides of the same coin idiom

See all meanings

• act/play/star opposite someone phrase
• be different/opposite sides of the same coin, at be two sides of the same coin idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

throw yourself into something

UK /θrəʊ/ US /θroʊ/

to do something actively and enthusiastically

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• English   
  • Adjective 
    • opposite (DIFFERENT)
    • opposite (FACING)
  • Preposition 
    • opposite
    • act/play/star opposite someone
  NounAdverb
• American   
  • Adjective 
    • opposite (DIFFERENT)
  • Preposition, adjective, adverb 
    • opposite (FACING)
• Business   AdjectivePrepositionNounAdverb
• Examples
• Collocations

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