antithesis

American  

[an-tith-uh-sis] / ænˈtɪθ ə sɪs /

noun

• antitheses
  plural

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

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antithesis British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-antithesis
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• antitheses
  plural

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

Explanation

An antithesis is the complete opposite of something. Though the counterculture was strong in America in 1968, voters elected Richard Nixon, the antithesis of a hippie. The noun antithesis comes from a Greek root meaning "opposition" and "set against." It's often used today when describing two ideas or terms that are placed in strong contrast to each other. We might come across antithesis in school if we learn about the "Hegelian dialectic." There, the thesis, or main idea put forward in an argument, is countered with its opposite idea — the antithesis — and the two are finally reconciled in a third proposition, the synthesis. An antithesis wouldn't exist without a thesis because it works as a comparison.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

antithesis antitheses

But the monochrome staging — white walls, white ground — looks almost like CGI, the antithesis of their appeal, and it takes us a minute to understand what’s actually going on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

For every idea, Höttges insisted on considering the antithesis as well.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

LGBTQ+ people are not a problem for Christians to manage, and their lives are not the antithesis of American values.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

She felt compelled to create an in-person experience that was distinctly human — something true and personal — the antithesis of the digitally-saturated, fragmented and ephemeral world we live in, where truth is often opaque.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

In fact, his cases for both the thesis and the antithesis are really the same argument.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

To illuminate his dark subject matter, Fiedler adopts a punchy, aggressive prose replete with antitheses, exclamation marks, capitalized terminology and bold generalizations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Meaning and purpose are the antitheses to the nothingness of the everything bagel.

From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2023

In the New York that shaped Trump’s aesthetics, that description would have suited affordable housing projects like Waterside Plaza, River Park Towers, Chatham Towers, and Tracey Towers—the antitheses of Trump’s new brand.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2018

Lancaster had been seen as the antitheses of predecessor Martin Johnson: one a big name but never before a coach, the other an outsider who had coached his way up from the grassroots.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2015

Sentence is bound to sentence with repeated words—“conceive,” “dedicate,” “consecrate”— and with the antitheses of “we” and “they,” “living” and “dead.”

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith