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opposition

 - 4 dictionary results

op⋅po⋅si⋅tion

  [op-uh-zish-uhn]
Use opposition in a Sentence
–noun
1. the action of opposing, resisting, or combating.
2. antagonism or hostility.
3. a person or group of people opposing, criticizing, or protesting something, someone, or another group.
4. (sometimes initial capital letter) the major political party opposed to the party in power and seeking to replace it.
5. the act of placing opposite, or the state or position of being placed opposite.
6. the act of opposing, or the state of being opposed by way of comparison or contrast.
7. Logic.
a. the relation between two propositions that have the same subject and predicate, but which differ in quantity or quality, or in both.
b. the relation between two propositions in virtue of which the truth or falsity of one of them determines the truth or falsity of the other.
8. Astronomy. the situation of two heavenly bodies when their longitudes or right ascensions differ by 180°: The moon is in opposition to the sun when the earth is directly between them.
9. Astrology. the situation of two heavenly bodies or groups of heavenly bodies whose celestial longitudes differ by 180°, conducive to confrontation or revelation: an astrological aspect.
10. Electricity. the condition that exists when two waves of the same frequency are out of phase by one-half of a period.
11. Linguistics.
a. the relationship between any two alternative units within a linguistic system, esp. between minimally distinct phonemes.
b. the feature that constitutes the difference between two such units.
Origin:
1350–1400; < L oppositiōn- (s. of oppositiō), equiv. to opposit(us) (see opposite ) + -iōn- -ion; r. ME opposicioun < OF opposicion < L as above

Related forms:
op⋅po⋅si⋅tion⋅al, op⋅po⋅si⋅tion⋅ar⋅y, adjective
op⋅po⋅si⋅tion⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To opposition
op·po·si·tion   (ŏp'ə-zĭsh'ən)   
n.  

    1. The act of opposing or resisting.

    2. 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).

    3. The position of two celestial bodies when their longitude differs by 180°, especially a configuration in which Earth lies on a straight line between the sun and a superior planet or the moon.

    4. The position of the superior planet or the moon in this configuration.

  2. Placement opposite to or in contrast with another.

  3. Something that serves as an obstacle.

  4. often Opposition A political party or an organized group opposed to the group, party, or government in power.

  5. Astronomy

    1. The position of two celestial bodies when their longitude differs by 180°, especially a configuration in which Earth lies on a straight line between the sun and a superior planet or the moon.

    2. The position of the superior planet or the moon in this configuration.

  6. Logic The relation existing between two propositions having an identical subject and predicate but differing in quantity, quality, or both.

  7. Linguistics Contrast in a language between two phonemes or other linguistically important elements.

op'po·si'tion·al adj.
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

opposition 
c.1386, an astrological term for two heavenly bodies exactly across from one another in the sky, from O.Fr. oposicion (12c.), from L. oppositionem (nom. oppositio) "act of opposing," from pp. stem of opponere "set against" (see opponent). Meaning "contrast, antagonism" first attested 1581; sense of "political party opposed to the one in power" is from 1704.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

opposition

in astronomy, the circumstance in which two celestial bodies appear in opposite directions in the sky. The Moon, when full, is said to be in opposition to the Sun; the Earth is then approximately between them. A superior planet (one with an orbit farther from the Sun than Earth's) is in opposition when Earth passes between it and the Sun. The opposition of a planet is a good time to observe it, because the planet is then at its nearest point to the Earth and in its full phase. The planets Venus and Mercury, whose orbits are smaller than Earth's, can never be in opposition to the Sun.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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