juxtaposition

[juhk-stuh-puh-zish-uhn]

noun

1. an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

2. the state of being close together or side by side.

Other Word Forms

• juxtapositional adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of juxtaposition¹

First recorded in 1655–65; from French, from Latin juxtā “near, bordering, side by side” + French position position; joust ( def. )

Example Sentences

But how likely is it that this juxtaposition is coincidental?

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Redford’s most memorable roles were arguably those that exploited the juxtaposition of the actor’s chiseled, class-president good looks and his ability to conjure up a scarred and hostile psyche.

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Yet in extraordinary times the constant juxtaposition of the banal and the monstrous becomes surreal.

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In the 2010s, the juxtaposition of tech wealth and visible poverty grew increasingly stark.

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The brutality of the crimes and the juxtaposition of such violence against the family’s Beverly Hills image turned the case into an international media circus, only rivaled at the time by the O.J.

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