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antithesis

 - 5 dictionary results

an⋅tith⋅e⋅sis

  [an-tith-uh-sis]
Use antithesis in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ses  [-seez] .
1. opposition; contrast: the antithesis of right and wrong.
2. the direct opposite (usually fol. by of or to): Her behavior was the very antithesis of cowardly.
3. Rhetoric.
a. the placing of a sentence or one of its parts against another to which it is opposed to form a balanced contrast of ideas, as in “Give me liberty or give me death.”
b. the second sentence or part thus set in opposition, as “or give me death.”
4. Philosophy. See under Hegelian dialectic.
Origin:
1520–30; < L < Gk: opposition, equiv. to anti(ti)thé(nai) to oppose + -sis -sis. See anti-, thesis

Synonyms:
2. opposite, reverse.

Hegelian dialectic

 
–noun
an interpretive method, originally used to relate specific entities or events to the absolute idea, in which some assertible proposition (thesis) is necessarily opposed by an equally assertible and apparently contradictory proposition (antithesis), the mutual contradiction being reconciled on a higher level of truth by a third proposition (synthesis).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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an·tith·e·sis   (ān-tĭth'ĭ-sĭs)   
n.   pl. an·tith·e·ses (-sēz')

  1. Direct contrast; opposition.

  2. The direct or exact opposite: Hope is the antithesis of despair.

    1. A figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure, as in "Hee for God only, shee for God in him" (John Milton).

    2. The second and contrasting part of such a juxtaposition.

  4. The second stage of the Hegelian dialectic process, representing the opposite of the thesis.


[Late Latin, from Greek, from antitithenai, antithe-, to oppose : anti-, anti- + tithenai, to set; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

antithesis 
1529, from L.L. antithesis, from Gk. antithesis "opposition," lit. "a placing against," noun of action from antitithenai "to set against, oppose," a term in logic, from anti- "against" + tithenai "to place," from PIE base *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

antithesis

a figure of speech in which irreconcilable opposites or strongly contrasting ideas are placed in sharp juxtaposition and sustained tension, as in the saying "Art is long, and Time is fleeting."

Learn more about antithesis with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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