apposition

American  

[ap-uh-zish-uhn] / ˌæp əˈzɪʃ ən /

noun

1. the act of placing together or bringing into proximity; juxtaposition.

2. the addition or application of one thing to another thing.

3. Grammar. a syntactic relation between expressions, usually consecutive, that have the same function and the same relation to other elements in the sentence, the second expression identifying or supplementing the first. In Washington, our first president, the phrase our first president is in apposition with Washington.

4. Biology. growth of a cell wall by the deposition of new particles in layers on the wall.

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apposition British  

/ ˌæpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. a putting into juxtaposition

2. a grammatical construction in which a word, esp a noun phrase, is placed after another to modify its meaning

3. biology growth in the thickness of a cell wall by the deposition of successive layers of material Compare intussusception

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Other Word Forms

• appositional adjective
• appositionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of apposition

1400–50; late Middle English apposicioun < Late Latin appositiōn- (stem of appositiō ) < Latin apposit ( us ) ( apposite ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

When you put two things right next to each other, you can call that apposition. The apposition of your dog and your cat makes an adorable photograph. Though you can use the noun apposition to talk about the positioning of objects — or words — close together, it's usually found in scientific or technical writing. In grammar, an apposition occurs when two words or phrases are placed beside each other in a sentence so that one describes or defines the other. An example is the phrase "my dog Woofers," in which "my dog" is in apposition to the name "Woofers."

Example Sentences

But other elements were recognizable, like the flat vowels and the plaid shirts and the helpful practicality, like the lonesomeness of the undifferentiated plains, like the apposition of wilderness and chain stores.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2019

The united probe glows wherever two organelles come into close apposition.

From Nature • Mar. 10, 2019

In the most beautiful apposition of two of the simplest words in our language: the freedom of speech.”

From BusinessWeek • Dec. 16, 2011

He models and commands the method, carries out the procedure, puts the parts into perfect apposition, but God knits the scar.

From Time Magazine Archive

There follows in immediate apposition to “the domain of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.”

From The Expositor's Bible: Ephesians by Findlay, G. G.

Related Words

• coherence
• cohesion
• compatibility
• fitness
• harmony
• stability
• steadiness
• uniformity
• unity