diametrically
Britishadverb
Explanation
If one thing is the exact opposite of something else, they're diametrically opposed. Here, diametrically is used to mean "totally" or "completely." Diametrically is an unusual word — it's only used to modify the adjective opposed. When you describe two things that couldn't be more different from each other, you can say they're diametrically opposed. Is your brother a cheerful, optimistic person, while your sister is cranky and gloomy? Then they're diametrically opposed. This word comes from diameter, a line through a circle, in the sense that two points at either end of a diameter are directly opposite each other.
Vocabulary lists containing diametrically
Opposites Attract
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A Man Called Ove
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Founding Brothers
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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.
Is it possible to prevent an heir from spending their inheritance on things to which we are diametrically opposed?
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 16, 2026
Their opinions may be diametrically opposed but they are held with equivalent zeal.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
But Donaldson sees these videos as pragmatic; making money and promoting charitable causes, he and his team would argue, are not diametrically opposed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 3, 2026
But Fabbro’s wistful salute to bygone traditions has significant limitations, especially noticeable in the reductive design of his diametrically opposed main characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2025
Within weeks, I realized that my schoolmates and I were on paths moving diametrically away from each other.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Definitions 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.
