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opposition Definition

op·po·si·tion (äp′ə zis̸h′ən)

noun

  1. the act of opposing
  2. an opposed condition; resistance, contradiction, contrast, hostility, etc.
    1. any person, group, or thing that opposes
    2. a political party opposing, and serving as a check on, the party in power
  4. Astrol., Astron. the position of two celestial bodies when their celestial longitudes differ by 180°; esp., the position of a superior planet or the full moon when it is in opposition with the sun
  5. Law the refusal of a creditor to assent to a debtor's release under the bankruptcy law
  6. Logic the relation of exclusion or inclusion which exists between propositions having the same subject and predicate but differing in quality, quantity, or both

Etymology: ME opposicioun < OFr opposition < L oppositio < oppositus, pp. of opponere: see opponent

opposition Related Forms
op′·po·si′·tional adjective op′·po·si′·tion·ist noun, adjective
opposition Synonyms

opposition

n.

  1. The act of opposing

    conflict, clash, strife, combat, contention, competition, facing, confronting, coping with, breasting, meeting, stemming, belying, struggle, encounter, buffeting, resisting, resistance, defense, counterattack, outflanking, neutralizing, hostilities, war, warfare, skirmish, brush, fray, engagement, action, withstanding, repelling, duel, trial by battle, collision, contest, overpowering, running counter to, race, handicap, check, counteraction, contradiction, debate, countervail, vying with, obstruction, thwart; see also battle 2, fight 1.

    Antonyms peace*, cessation, surrender.

  2. The attitude suggestive of opposition

    dislike, repugnance, hostility, antagonism, defiance, objectionableness, antipathy, abhorrence, detestation, aversion, constraint, restriction, restraint, hindrance, tyranny, misrule, discord, want of harmony, incompatibility, distaste, disfavor, dissatisfaction, discontent, displeasure, irritation, offense, chagrin, humiliation, mortification, disagreement, anger, loathing, disapproval, complaint, discontentment, inconvenience; see also hate, hatred 1, 2, malice, resentment.

    Antonyms support*, enthusiasm, accord.

  3. The individual or group that opposes

    antagonist, disputant, adversary; see enemy 1, 2, opponent 1, 2.

opposition Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • arouse: It became a broad anti-sanctions campaign, which has aroused widespread opposition to Western policy.
  • crush: What Microsoft is up to is not especially enriching itself, but gleefully crushing the opposition.
  • provoke: The idea of hundreds of lorries and trains traveling the length of Scotland provoked strong opposition.
  • suppress: Vortigern then went on to suppress the opposition, as the conflict with Ambrosius at Wallop in 437 shows.
  • encounter: Efforts to promote the Honduran tobacco industry as a royal monopoly proved less effective and encountered stiff local opposition.
  • overcome: It was a case of irresistible force overcoming all opposition.

Adjective modifier

  • stiff: Elaine aims to break back into the Harrier's national league team where she will face stiffer opposition.
  • fierce: Each tightening of the law has met fierce opposition.
  • Iraqi: A more active use of the Iraqi opposition was suggested for propaganda work in the occupied villages.
  • binary: However, binary oppositions occasionally masquerade the complexity of certain phenomena.
  • widespread: These concerns in turn have a bearing on the widespread evangelical opposition to his personal views on homosexuality.
  • outright: In the later context, the reference is to those outside the band where only outright opposition could not be tolerated.

Modifies a noun

  • spokesman: He was until recently a member of the council's shadow cabinet and opposition spokesman on social services.
  • party: The stance of an opposition party should not depend on the prominence its leader is given on the national stage.
  • politician: A good fairy story As the General Election approaches opposition politicians are talking about regulatory excesses.
  • bench: Over the next few years he held various positions on the opposition front bench.
  • leader: The message was delivered to more than a dozen Iraqi opposition leaders who visited the White House complex to discuss the situation.

Noun used with modifier

  • islamist: The secularist government endorses the ban, while the Islamist opposition sees it as an infringement of women's rights.
  • centre-left: After 1988, these tended to align to the centre-left opposition party the PRD.
  • backbench: Blair's current backbench opposition is no uprising of virgins, but just the continuation of behavior seen throughout the preceding years.
opposition Quotes

The duty of an Opposition is to oppose.

—Churchill, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer

No Government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition.

—Disraeli, Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield

It issaid that England invented the phrase,'Her Majesty's Opposition'; that it was the first government which made a criticism of administration as much a part of the polityas administration itself. 51

—Bagehot,Walter

It is said to be hard on His Majesty's Ministers to raise objections to this proposition. For my part, I think it no more hard on His Majesty's Opposition to compel them to take this course.

—Hobhouse,John Cam, 1st Baron Broughton

Posterity will do justice to that unprincipled maniac Gladstoneöan extraordinary mixture of envy, vindictiveness, hypocrisyand superstition and with one commanding characteristic.Whether Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition, whether preaching, praying, speechifying, or scribblingöneveragentleman.Heisso vain that he wants to figure in history as the settler of all the great questions; but a parliamentary Constitution is not favourable to such ambitions. Things must be done by parties, not by persons using parties as tools.

—Disraeli, Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield

The cardinal tenets of feminism divided my generation, effectively disempowering and disenfranchising its members. It does make me bitterlyangry that my generation, which prided itself so complacently on its soul, on its powers of intelligence and analysis, should have fallen so cloddishly for totalitarian simplicities which declared a war of eternal opposition between men and women.

—Lynd, Robert

Capitalism only works well when it has a strong opposition, because that forces it to be more egalitarian than it wants to be.

—Sweezy, Paul Malor

Ihavea lotof sympathy with him.Itoowas onceayoung, bald Leader of the Opposition.

—Kinnock, Neil Gordon