First Known Use: 1529
Dictionary
antithesis
noun an·tith·e·sis \an-ˈti-thə-səs\
: the exact opposite of something or someone
: the state of two things that are directly opposite to each other
plural an·tith·e·ses \-ˌsēz\
Full Definition of ANTITHESIS
1
a (1) : the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences (as in “action, not words” or “they promised freedom and provided slavery”) (2) : opposition, contrast <the antithesis of prose and verse> b (1) : the second of two opposing words, clauses, or sentences that are being rhetorically contrasted (2) : the direct opposite <her temperament is the very antithesis of mine>
2
: the second stage of a dialectic process
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Examples of ANTITHESIS
- In urban areas, middle schools often became the antithesis of what reformers had intended. Instead of warm incubators of independence and judgment, they became impersonal, oppressive institutions. —Claudia Wallis, Time, 8 Aug. 2005
- Yet the newest residential rage in Dallas is the antithesis of the traditional neighborhood: the gated community. Depending on your income and level of anxiety, these private enclaves may contain golf courses, health clubs and equestrian centers … —Paul McFedries, Word Spy, 2004
- Cato, who dosed his family on cabbage soup, derided Greek physicians as the antithesis of Roman virtue: they were frauds who cheated patients and ‘have sworn to kill all barbarians with their drugs’. —Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, 1997
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Origin of ANTITHESIS
Late Latin, from Greek, literally, opposition, from antitithenai to oppose, from anti- + tithenai to set — more at do
Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms
ANTITHESIS Defined for Kids
antithesis
noun an·tith·e·sis \an-ˈti-thə-səs\
plural an·tith·e·ses \-ə-ˌsēz\
Definition of ANTITHESIS for Kids
: the exact opposite <Poverty is the antithesis of wealth.>
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