opposition
op·po·si·tion
noun
the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with
- “he encountered a general feeling of resistance from many citizens”
- “despite opposition from the newspapers he went ahead”
the act of opposing groups confronting each other
- “the government was not ready for a confrontation with the unions”
- “the invaders encountered stiff opposition”
a contestant that you are matched against
Origin
From Middle English opposicioun, from Old French oposicion (whence French opposition), from Late Latin oppositiō, translating Ancient Greek ἀντίθεσις (antíthesis), from the past participle stem of classical Latin oppōnō (“to set against”). Equivalent to oppose + -ition.
Phrases
- controlled opposition
- His Majesty's Opposition
- leader of the opposition
- opposition parry
- opposition research
- political opposition
- square of opposition
Related words
Narrower terms
Parts
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.