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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

opposite.

Located directly across from something else, or from each other.

8 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɒp.ə.sɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɑ.pə.sɪt/General-American, dialectal/ˈɑp.sɪt/General-American, dialectal
  1. Located directly across from something else, or from each other.

    not-comparable
    She saw him walking on the opposite side of the road.
  2. Of leaves and flowers, positioned directly across from each other on a stem.

    not-comparable
  3. Facing in the other direction.

    not-comparable
    They were moving in opposite directions.
  4. Of either of two complementary or mutually exclusive things.

    not-comparable
    He is attracted to the opposite sex.
  5. Extremely different; inconsistent; contrary; antagonistic.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English opposit, borrowed from Old French oposite, from Latin oppositus, perfect passive participle of oppōnō (“to oppose”). Compare oppose.

noun/ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɒp.ə.sɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɑ.pə.sɪt/General-American, dialectal/ˈɑp.sɪt/General-American, dialectal
  1. Something or someone opposite to something or someone else. A person or thing that is importantly (substantively) different from someone or something else.

  2. Something or someone opposite to something or someone else. A person or thing that is importantly (substantively) different from someone or something else. Especially, one that is different to the extreme degree of being the reverse.

    She is the opposite of her ex-boyfriend who abused her both physically and verbally nearly every day for five years. She now works as an advocate and supportive listener for others who have endured abusive relationships.
  3. Something or someone opposite to something or someone else. An opponent.

    The dogfighter fought closely with his opposite.
  4. Something or someone opposite to something or someone else. A counterpart.

    The Swedish diplomat worked closely with his opposite from Denmark.
  5. Something or someone opposite to something or someone else. An antonym.

    "Up" is the opposite of "down".
  6. Something or someone opposite to something or someone else. An additive inverse.

Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English opposit, borrowed from Old French oposite, from Latin oppositus, perfect passive participle of oppōnō (“to oppose”). Compare oppose.

adv/ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɒp.ə.sɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɑ.pə.sɪt/General-American, dialectal/ˈɑp.sɪt/General-American, dialectal
  1. In an opposite position.

    not-comparable
    I was on my seat and she stood opposite.
    Where's the bus station? -Over there, just opposite.
  2. On another channel at the same time.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English opposit, borrowed from Old French oposite, from Latin oppositus, perfect passive participle of oppōnō (“to oppose”). Compare oppose.

prep/ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɒp.ə.sɪt/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɑ.pə.sɪt/General-American, dialectal/ˈɑp.sɪt/General-American, dialectal
  1. Facing, or across from.

    There’s a bus stop opposite the faculty entrance, right on the other side of the road.
  2. In a complementary role to.

    He played opposite Marilyn Monroe.
  3. On another channel at the same time.

Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English opposit, borrowed from Old French oposite, from Latin oppositus, perfect passive participle of oppōnō (“to oppose”). Compare oppose.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.