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oppositionary

 - 2 dictionary results

op⋅po⋅si⋅tion

  [op-uh-zish-uhn]
Use oppositionary 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.
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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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