antithesis

[an-tith-uh-sis]

noun

plural

antitheses 

1. opposition; contrast.

   the antithesis of right and wrong.

2. the direct opposite (usually followed by of orto ).

   Her behavior was the very antithesis of cowardly.

   Synonyms: reverse, opposite

3. Rhetoric.

   1. 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.”

   2. the second sentence or part thus set in opposition, as “or give me death.”

4. Philosophy.,  Hegelian dialectic

antithesis

/ ænˈtɪθɪsɪs /

noun

1. the exact opposite

2. contrast or opposition

3. 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

4. philosophy the second stage in the Hegelian dialectic contradicting the thesis before resolution by the synthesis

Other Word Forms

• self-antithesis noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of antithesis¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin, from Greek: “opposition,” from anti(ti)thé(nai) “to oppose” + -sis -sis; equivalent to anti- + thesis

Word History and Origins

Origin of antithesis¹

C15: via Latin from Greek: a setting against, from _anti- + tithenai to place