interposition
Americannoun
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the act or fact of interposing or the condition of being interposed.
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something interposed.
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the doctrine that an individual state of the U.S. may oppose any federal action it believes encroaches on its sovereignty.
noun
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something interposed
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the act of interposing or the state of being interposed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of interposition
1375–1425; late Middle English interposicio ( u ) n < Latin interpositiōn- (stem of interpositiō ), equivalent to interposit ( us ) (past participle of interpōnere to place between) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Interposition is intervening by inserting something between two people or groups. One example is your mom's interposition of the family dog between you and your sister in the back seat of the car before you can start fighting. Interposition is from the Latin interpositionem, " insertion," and root words meaning "put" and "between." Sometimes interposition is a physical "putting between," like when one person steps in to break up a shoving match between two others. It can also be a verbal interruption. In U.S. politics, interposition occurs when a state claims that a federal law is unconstitutional and won't enforce it; in that case, the state is figuratively stepping in between its residents and the federal government.
Vocabulary lists containing interposition
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. (1963), List 4
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"Paradise" by Dante Alighieri, Cantos 28–33
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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.
Interposition, he has told attendees, is like playing defense in basketball.
From Salon • Jan. 13, 2023
Interposition was put to its ultimate test when General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard's ultimatum touched off the bombardment of Sumter.
From Time Magazine Archive
In many other Afflictions there is such a Mixture of human Interposition, that we are ready to imagine, we may be allowed to complain, and to chide a little.
From Submission to Divine Providence in the Death of Children Recommended and inforced, in a sermon preached at Northampton, on the death of a very amiable and hopeful child, about five years old by Doddridge, Philip
The seventh is the redoubled Shake, which is learned by mixing a few Notes between the Major or Minor Shake, which Interposition suffices to make several Shakes of one.
From Observations on the Florid Song or Sentiments on the Ancient and Modern Singers by Galliard, John Ernest
Interposition presupposes particular necessity or reason for it, and raises the question, When and how often it may have been necessary.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 36, October, 1860 by Various
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.
