The definition of an opposition is a conflict, resistance or disagreement.
An example of opposition is the Occupy Wall Street movement.
opposition
- the act of opposing
- an opposed condition; resistance, contradiction, contrast, hostility, etc.
- any person, group, or thing that opposes
- [oftenO-] a political party opposing, and serving as a check on, the party in power
- 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
- Law the refusal of a creditor to assent to a debtor's release under the bankruptcy law
- Logic the relation of exclusion or inclusion which exists between propositions having the same subject and predicate but differing in quality, quantity, or both
Origin of opposition
Middle English opposicioun from Old French opposition from Classical Latin oppositio from oppositus, past participle of opponere: see opponentopposition
noun
- a. The act of opposing or resisting.b. The condition of being in conflict; antagonism: “The history of men's opposition to women's emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself” ( Virginia Woolf )
- Placement opposite to or in contrast with another.
- Something that serves as an obstacle.
- often Opposition A political party or an organized group opposed to the group, party, or government in power.
- Astronomy a. The position of two celestial objects when their longitude differs by 180°, especially a configuration in which the sun and a superior planet or the moon are on opposite sides of Earth.b. The position of the superior planet or the moon in this configuration.
- Logic The relation existing between two propositions having an identical subject and predicate but differing in quantity, quality, or both.
- Linguistics Contrast in a language between two phonemes or other linguistically important elements.
Related Forms:
- op′po·si′tion·al
adjective
opposition
Noun
(plural oppositions)
- The action of opposing or of being in conflict.
- An opposite or contrasting position.
- An opponent in some form of competition.
- (astronomy) The apparent relative position of two celestial bodies when one is at an angle of 180 degrees from the other as seen from the Earth.
- (politics) A political party or movement opposed to the party or government in power.
- (law) In United States intellectual property law, a proceeding in which an interested party seeks to prevent the registration of a trademark or patent.
- (chess) A position in which the player on the move must yield with his king allowing his opponent to advance with his own king.
Antonyms
- The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. Use the template {{sense|"gloss"}}, substituting a short version of the definition for "gloss".
Origin
From Old French oposicion (whence French opposition), from Late Latin oppositio, translating Ancient Greek ἀντίθεσις (antithesis), from the past participle stem of classical Latin oppÅnere (“to set against").
