opposition

noun

ˌä-pə-ˈzi-shən How to pronounce opposition (audio)
Definition of oppositionnext
1
as in resistance
the inclination to resist most of the opposition to the proposed smoking ban is coming from bar owners worried about its impact on their businesses

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in oppositeness
the quality or state of being as different as possible her actions stand in direct opposition to her words

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of opposition Tuesday's vote ended with 189 voting in favor and 235 voting in opposition of constraining the president's authority. — Alex Sundby, CBS News, 30 June 2026 Community opposition to temporary waste storage, which risks becoming permanent without a federal waste repository, further undermined the project. — Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 At the heart of the splintering from the mainstream church was Lefebvre and his followers’ opposition to church reforms introduced in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council. — Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 30 June 2026 Maxim Katz, a Russian opposition figure and former Moscow municipal deputy, told Fox News Digital that the fuel shortages are real and increasingly difficult for Russians to ignore. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for opposition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opposition
  1. resistance
  2. polarity
  3. objection
  4. divergence
Noun
  • With more than 2,000 excess deaths recorded over six days at the peak of the June heat, according to health authorities, France’s cultural resistance to AC has started to soften.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • Why photonics matters Unlike electrical signals, which encounter increasing resistance and power losses as data rates climb, optical communication can transmit enormous amounts of information with significantly lower energy consumption.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026
Definition of resistance
Noun
  • Its core strategies involve embracing both sides of challenging polarities, listening somatically and deeply to uncover common truths, and working from a sense of abundance and interconnectedness.
    — Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Next, there’s Fernet Branca, similar in intensity to Green Chartreuse but with an opposite polarity.
    — Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 30 May 2026
Definition of polarity
Noun
  • For individuals 18 and older, courts generally must approve a qualifying name change within six weeks without holding a hearing or allowing formal objections.
    — Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026
  • Much of the objection to using the term comes from Israel's ongoing attacks in Lebanon and Gaza despite ceasefires.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
Definition of objection
Noun
  • This contrast helps explain the divergence between each man’s politics.
    — Jim Rasenberger, The Atlantic, 4 July 2026
  • The divergence shows investors are rewarding those making the key parts of the AI buildout, especially chips, and penalizing those paying for it.
    — Deena Zaidi, CNBC, 1 July 2026
Definition of divergence

Browse Nearby Words

opposites
opposition
oppositionist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Opposition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opposition. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on opposition

Nglish: Translation of opposition for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about opposition

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All