Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: French
Origin: Latin, past participle of opponere; OPPOSE

opposite

2 adjective
     
opposite2 [only before noun]
1 as different as possible from something else:
I thought the medicine would make him sleep, but it had the opposite effect.
at the opposite end of the scale/spectrum
two parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum
At the opposite extreme, Ashworth's style is very simple and modern.
Bob was quicker than Ed? It's usually the opposite way round.
opposite to
a political philosophy that was opposite to everything she believed in
2 the opposite direction, way etc is directly away from someone or something:
She turned and walked off in the opposite direction.
But the sign was pointing the opposite way.
3 the opposite side, corner, edge etc of something is on the other side of the same area, often facing it:
The store was on the opposite side of the street.
the drawing on the opposite page
They work at opposite ends of the country (=a long distance apart), so only see each other at weekends.
4

the opposite sex

the other sex. If you are a man, women are the opposite sex:
members of the opposite sex
5

somebody's opposite number

someone who has the same job in another similar organization:
a meeting with her opposite number at the Department of Health
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary results for "opposite"
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary