opposition
oppositions
Opposition is something that goes against or disagrees with something or someone else. Just about any political view has opposition.
Chances are you know the word opposite: this means something similar. The opposition to something goes in the opposite direction. There is always opposition to raising taxes in this county. The Republicans are the opposition of the Democrats (and vice versa). If you're holding a meeting, you could say, "Is there any opposition to this idea?" In war, the enemy is the opposition, and in a debate, the other speaker is the opposition. Whenever there's disagreement or confrontation, there's opposition.
Definitions of opposition
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the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with“despite opposition from the newspapers he went ahead”
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synonyms:
resistance
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types:
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lockout
a management action resisting employee's demands; employees are barred from entering the workplace until they agree to terms
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reaction
doing something in opposition to another way of doing it that you don't like
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anti-takeover defense
resistance to or defense against a hostile takeover
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backlash
an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence
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type of:
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action
something done (usually as opposed to something said)
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the act of hostile groups opposing each other“the invaders encountered stiff opposition”
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synonyms:
confrontation
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types:
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strikebreaking
confrontational activities intended to break up a strike by workers
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type of:
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resistance
group action in opposition to those in power
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strikebreaking
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the relation between opposed entities
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synonyms:
oppositeness
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types:
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antipode
direct opposite
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antithesis
exact opposite
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conflict
opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot)
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contrast, direct contrast
the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared
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flip side
a different aspect of something (especially the opposite aspect)
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mutual opposition, polarity
a relation between two opposite attributes or tendencies
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gradable opposition
an opposition that is capable of being graded
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polarity, sign
having an indicated pole (as the distinction between positive and negative electric charges)
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ungradable opposition
an opposition that has no intermediate grade; either one or the other
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contradictoriness
the relation that exists when opposites cannot coexist
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contradiction
opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
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contrary
exact opposition
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contrariety
the relation between contraries
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tertium quid
some third thing similar to two opposites but distinct from both
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contrary, opposite, reverse
a relation of direct opposition
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inverse, opposite
something inverted in sequence or character or effect
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antagonism
the relation between opposing principles or forces or factors
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additive inverse
(mathematics) one of a pair of numbers whose sum is zero; the additive inverse of -5 is +5
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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
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polar opposition
an opposition that can be graded between two extremes or poles
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positiveness, positivity
the character of the positive electric pole
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negativeness, negativity
the character of the negative electric pole
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complementarity
a relation between two opposite states or principles that together exhaust the possibilities
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dialectic
a contradiction of ideas that serves as the determining factor in their interaction
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incompatibility, inconsistency, mutual exclusiveness, repugnance
the relation between propositions that cannot both be true at the same time
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type of:
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relation
an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
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a contestant that you are matched against
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type of:
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contestant
a person who participates in competitions
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contestant
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a body of people united in opposing something
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types:
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INC, Iraqi National Congress
a heterogeneous collection of groups united in their opposition to Saddam Hussein's government of Iraq; formed in 1992 it is comprised of Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Kurds who hope to build a new government
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type of:
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body
a group of persons associated by some common tie or occupation and regarded as an entity
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INC, Iraqi National Congress
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an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
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a direction opposite to another
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types:
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orthogonal opposition, orthogonality, perpendicularity
the relation of opposition between things at right angles
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antipodal, antipodal opposition, diametrical opposition
the relation of opposition along a diameter
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enantiomorphism, mirror-image relation
the relation of opposition between crystals or molecules that are reflections of one another
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type of:
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direction
the spatial relation between something and the course along which it points or moves
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orthogonal opposition, orthogonality, perpendicularity
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘opposition'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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