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antithesis Definition

an·tith·esis (an tit̸h′ə sis)

noun pl. -·ses′-sēz′

  1. a contrast or opposition of thoughts, usually in two phrases, clauses, or sentences (Ex.: you are going; I am staying)
  2. the second part of such an expression
  3. a contrast or opposition
  4. the exact opposite joy is the antithesis of sorrow

Etymology: ME antitesis < LL antithesis < Gr < antithenai < anti-, against + tithenai, to place: see do

antithesis Synonyms

antithesis

n.

  1. Opposition

    contrast, contradiction, contraposition, contrariety; see contrast 2.

  2. Opposite

    direct opposite, reverse, converse; see opposite.

antithesis Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • democracy: The EU is the antithesis of accountable parliamentary democracy invented by the British over 700 years ago.
  • everything: He's a rat, the very antithesis of everything I hold dear about this country.
  • freedom: In the beginning Many people on the right would have us believe that government is the antithesis of freedom.
  • sustainability: This, to us, is the antithesis of sustainability.
  • approach: Treatment centers, operated by foreign companies and employing visiting staff are an antithesis of this approach.
  • spirit: A dream team is the antithesis of the Olympic spirit.

Converse of object

  • represent: His work is seen to represent the antithesis of any progressive political engagement.
  • seem: HTBA's development of a business strategy might seem the antithesis of an artistic strategy, but is not.
  • consider: Pausing to consider the antithesis of all we hold dear does not enable us to progress in our understanding of it.
  • create: I'm not setting out to create an antithesis, simply to highlight an issue that, to me, stands out very strongly.
  • become: The collective mind of the board of directors had become the antithesis of the momentum Tesla had gained in his lifetime.
  • make: But I must follow the antithesis made by Thompson.

Adjective modifier

  • absolute: Powell's films are the absolute antithesis of realist cinema.
  • false: My book and my life is founded on equality so a false antithesis has been set up!
  • exact: His character is the exact antithesis of Dan Dare's.
  • complete: The complete antithesis to my own Watcher life of conformity.
  • very: Isn't the world of the corporation the very antithesis of the poet's vocation?
  • total: In fact it was the total antithesis of that.

Noun used with modifier

  • class: Even in the former, class antitheses are not lacking.
antithesis Quotes

And he himself one vile antithesis.

—Pope, Alexander

   Books, we are told, propose to instruct or to amuse. Indeed!† The true antithesisto knowledge, in this case, is not pleasure, but power. All that is literature seeks to communicate power; all that is not literature, to communicate knowledge.

—Depp,Johnny (John Christopher)