antithesis
Americannoun
plural
antitheses-
opposition; contrast.
the antithesis of right and wrong.
-
the direct opposite (usually followed by of orto ).
Her behavior was the very antithesis of cowardly.
-
Rhetoric.
-
the placing of a sentence or one of its parts against another to which it is opposed to form a balanced contrast of ideas, as in “Give me liberty or give me death.”
-
the second sentence or part thus set in opposition, as “or give me death.”
-
-
Philosophy. Hegelian dialectic
noun
-
the exact opposite
-
contrast or opposition
-
rhetoric the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, phrases, or words so as to produce an effect of balance, such as my words fly up, my thoughts remain below
-
philosophy the second stage in the Hegelian dialectic contradicting the thesis before resolution by the synthesis
Other Word Forms
- self-antithesis noun
Etymology
Origin of antithesis
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin, from Greek: “opposition,” from anti(ti)thé(nai) “to oppose” + -sis -sis; equivalent to anti- + thesis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It's the antithesis of what people know me for," he added.
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026
Solarpunk is more than just the antithesis of cyberpunk, “Blade Runner” and a devastated environment smothered by technofascism.
From Salon • Dec. 31, 2025
“That is the antithesis of how we invest. We are underweight AI and data-center stocks.”
From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025
Campaigning, for Madigan, is the antithesis to what she does.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025
This poet ate his salad with his fingers, leaf by leaf, while talking to me about the antithesis of nature and art.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.