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Definition of antithesis noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

antithesis

noun
 
/ænˈtɪθəsɪs/
 
/ænˈtɪθəsɪs/
[usually singular]
(plural antitheses
 
/ænˈtɪθəsiːz/
 
/ænˈtɪθəsiːz/
)
(formal)
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  1. the opposite of something
    • Love is the antithesis of selfishness.
    • Students finishing their education at 16 is the very antithesis of what society needs.
    • The current establishment is the antithesis of democracy.
    Topics Languagec2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • absolute
    • complete
    • exact
    verb + antithesis
    • be
    • represent
    preposition
    • antithesis between
    • antithesis of
    See full entry
  2. a contrast between two things
    • There is an antithesis between the needs of the state and the needs of the people.
    • the sharp antithesis between their views
    Topics Languagec2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • absolute
    • complete
    • exact
    verb + antithesis
    • be
    • represent
    preposition
    • antithesis between
    • antithesis of
    See full entry
  3. Word Originlate Middle English (originally denoting the substitution of one grammatical case for another): from late Latin, from Greek antitithenai ‘set against’, from anti ‘against’ + tithenai ‘to place’. The earliest current sense, denoting a rhetorical or literary device, dates from the early 16th cent.
See antithesis in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
perspective
noun
 
 
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