Antithesis    (pronounced an-tith-ih-sis) noun


Definition

1. a contrast or opposition. 2. the direct or exact opposite.

Other Forms

Antithetical (pronounced an-tih-thet-ih-kul) adjective

Main Example

  • For over twenty years, a primary goal of the stewards of our nation's economy has been to prevent a recurrence of the high inflation we suffered during the 1970s and early 1980s. But in recent months, Alan Greenspan and other top economists have voiced fears about inflation's antithesis--deflation! That happens when the economy goes into a tailspin once it becomes engulfed in a vicious spiral of declining prices.

    Workplace Examples

  • Something is not right! Our department was created with the specific goal of decentralizing things, yet we are now doing the very antithesis of that--making everything highly centralized!

  • Melissa really said that? I find that hard to believe. It's so antithetical to her DNA . . . to her genealogy!

    Other Examples

  • your commenting: "The viewpoints of those two guys on just about any issue couldn't be more antithetical! No wonder they clash so frequently during meetings."

  • your urging the rejection of a proposal because you see it as being the very antithesis of the company's stated mission, values, or principles

  • the late American spymaster William Colby describing himself as being the antithesis of the tall, handsome and dashing James Bond because Colby was so inconspicuous, he "wouldn't even be noticed by the waiter in a restaurant"

  • civil libertarians opposing any restrictions on Internet hate sites, saying such regulation would tread on free speech and thus be antithetical to the First Amendment

    © 2003 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Putative
    Apostasy and Apostate
    Atrophy
    Obfuscate
    Unfettered
    Proclivity
    Vociferous

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