Opposite Meaning
/ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjLocated directly across from something else, or from each other.
adjOf leaves and flowers, positioned directly across from each other on a stem.
Sentence Examples
I can't say the opposite.
Delight is the opposite of sorrow.
Answers are given on the opposite page.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Hot is the ____ of cold in temperature, and they are completely different.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two brothers had completely ____ personalities, one being shy and the other very outgoing.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English opposit, borrowed from Old French oposite, from Latin oppositus, perfect passive participle of oppōnō (“to oppose”). Compare oppose.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Novels, by which the reader is misled into another sort of pieasure opposite to that which is designed in an epick poem."
— 1697, Virgil, “Dedication”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.[…]. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts."
— 1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, page 01:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Hot is the ____ of cold in temperature, and they are completely different.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two brothers had completely ____ personalities, one being shy and the other very outgoing.