apposite
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of apposite
1615–25; < Latin appositus added to, put near (past participle of appōnere ), equivalent to ap- ap- 1 + positus placed ( posi- place + -tus past participle suffix)
Explanation
Something apposite is fitting or relevant. It is apposite that radio stations play Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, and that your tax accountant takes vacation after April 15th. It all makes sense. The adjective apposite is derived from the Latin terms appositus and apponere. Ponere means to place, and thus apponere is "well-placed or well-put." Don't confuse apposite with opposite; they have almost opposite meanings!
Vocabulary lists containing apposite
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Right on Time
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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.
This is not part of the sound design—it’s the clock in the store—but feels oddly apposite in ways both good and bad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Depression had not previously been the subject of comedy, but it seemed appropriately apposite to a year of national self-celebration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
The play ends with Alvita and her husbands singing along to Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” which is both apposite and wrong.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2023
Speaking from his own lockdown bunker in the Peak District last month, the singer reluctantly agrees it's turned out to be a rather apposite tune for the times.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2020
Consequently, the witness of the Context cannot but be held to be positively or negatively, though perhaps more often negatively than positively, a very apposite Note of Truth.
From The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by John William Burgon
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
