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opposite

Oh no! That crazy man is back again and coming right towards us! Quick! Run in the opposite direction! Go the other way!

Opposite is an adjective that describes something found on the exact other side of a space—or even an idea. You say "black," I say "white": we're on opposite sides of the debate. You might notice the similarity of opposite to the nouns opponent and opposition or to the verb oppose. An opponent is someone you are matched against. To help remember opposite, think of a tennis match: two players oppose each other from opposite ends of the court.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: opposite

1
 adjadv
being directly across from each other; facing
directly facing each other
2
 adjn
characterized by opposite extremes; completely opposed
a relation of direct opposition
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: opposite
1

adj 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”
Synonyms
other
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied

adj moving or facing away from each other

“looking in opposite directions”
“they went in opposite directions”
Synonyms
other
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied

adv directly facing each other

“they sat opposite at the table”
Synonyms:
face-to-face
2

adj characterized by opposite extremes; completely opposed

“opposite meanings”
Synonyms:
diametric, diametrical, polar
different
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree

adj 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”
Synonyms
different
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree

adj the other one of a complementary pair

“the opposite sex”
“the two chess kings are set up on squares of opposite colors”
Synonyms
other
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied

adj of leaves etc; growing in pairs on either side of a stem

“opposite leaves”
Synonyms:
paired
Antonyms:
alternate
of leaves and branches etc; first on one side and then on the other in two ranks along an axis; not paired

n a relation of direct opposition

Synonyms:
contrary, reverse
Type of:
oppositeness, opposition
the relation between opposed entities

n something inverted in sequence or character or effect

Synonyms:
inverse
Types:
additive inverse
(mathematics) one of a pair of numbers whose sum is zero; the additive inverse of -5 is +5
multiplicative inverse, reciprocal
(mathematics) one of a pair of numbers whose product is 1: the reciprocal of 2/3 is 3/2; the multiplicative inverse of 7 is 1/7
Type of:
oppositeness, opposition
the relation between opposed entities

n a word that expresses a meaning opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other

Synonyms:
antonym, opposite word
Antonyms:
equivalent word, synonym
two words that can be interchanged in a context are said to be synonymous relative to that context
Types:
direct antonym
antonyms that are commonly associated (e.g., `wet' and `dry')
indirect antonym
antonyms whose opposition is mediated (e.g., the antonymy of `wet' and `parched' is mediated by the similarity of `parched' to `dry')
Type of:
word
a unit of language that native speakers can identify

n a contestant that you are matched against

Synonyms:
opponent, opposition
Type of:
contestant
a person who participates in competitions
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