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

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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

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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 In response to Georgian Dream’s actions, members of the Georgian opposition and Georgian citizens have gathered across the country to protest Georgian Dream. — Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 The Zambian government announced later that 11 opposition officials were detained in a law enforcement raid on election night at a property where opposition leader Mundubile was present, though he was not arrested, according to the government. — Jacob Zimba, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026 The public hearing was also simple; no one spoke in opposition. — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 18 Aug. 2026 The move to dismiss Klepach appears to underscore the Kremlin's zero-tolerance approach to public criticism and opposition to its military campaign in Ukraine after nearly four-and-a-half years of war. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for opposition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opposition
  1. resistance
  2. polarity
  3. objection
  4. divergence
Noun
  • The outbreak has gained momentum since it was declared on May 15, as weak health infrastructure, community resistance and instability hinder the effort to identify and respond to cases.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
  • By way of thanks, the Swiss Football Association donated professional training equipment to the school, including Olympic lifting platforms, squat racks, medicine balls, resistance bands, agility hurdles and plyometric boxes.
    — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of resistance
Noun
  • At about 230 kelvin, or minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the researchers found that strain could change the polarity of this Hall signal.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The weaponization of frontier AI flips that polarity, reducing the mean time to discovery of infrastructure vulnerabilities and the potential of accelerating data exfiltration from weeks and days to hours and minutes.
    — Will Townsend, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of polarity
Noun
  • Nobody had raised objections, not because everyone agreed, but because nobody had been invited to express a different point of view.
    — Chiara Alzati, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Badger needed 17 yes votes from the County Board members to proceed because Homer Glen filed a legal objection to the plan.
    — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of objection
Noun
  • The London and New York gold markets are also experiencing bouts of sharp price divergence.
    — Mark Leonard, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The divergence has helped Taiwan pull ahead of South Korea in gross domestic product per capita in 2025 for the first time in more than two decades, a gap that is expected to widen further this year.
    — John Liu, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of divergence

Browse Nearby Words

opposites
opposition
oppositionist
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Cite this Entry

“Opposition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opposition. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on opposition

Nglish: Translation of opposition for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about opposition

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