juxtaposition
Americannoun
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juxtapositions
plural
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an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
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the state of being close together or side by side.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of juxtaposition
First recorded in 1655–65; from French, from Latin juxtā “near, bordering, side by side” + French position position; cf. joust ( def. )
Explanation
If a waiter served you a whole fish and a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the same plate, your surprise might be caused by the juxtaposition, or the side-by-side contrast, of the two foods. Any time unlike things bump up against each other, you can describe it as a juxtaposition. Imagine a funeral mourner telling jokes graveside, and you get the idea — the juxtaposition in this case is between grief and humor. Juxtaposition of two contrasting items is often done deliberately in writing, music, or art — in order to highlight their differences.
Vocabulary lists containing juxtaposition
Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 1
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Reading: Literature - Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
Much of the humor, and there’s plenty, arises predictably out of the juxtaposition of smalltown Minnesota and Tarantino-esque mayhem; “Fargo” is forever on one’s mind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The race also featured a stark generational juxtaposition, with DeGette, 68, having held public office since well before Kiros, 29, was even born.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
“I think the juxtaposition is the point,” Orchison said.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Meagan adds that she enjoys the juxtaposition of the "bravado" of ice hockey mixed with the characters' "vulnerability underneath".
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
This is a zeugma: the intentional juxtaposition of different senses of a single word.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Eliot was creating a new type of poetry from stylistic juxtapositions, “Louis Armstrong, way down the river in New Orleans, was working out a similar technique for jazz.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
He provides the pictures and the juxtapositions; a viewer has to make the connections and draw the conclusions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
He followed it with a succession of intensely theatrical divertissements, often revolving around unexpected intellectual conceits or bizarre juxtapositions and featuring brilliant dialogue, puns, repartee, double meanings and misunderstandings.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
In “No Other Choice,” his transitions and visual juxtapositions convey profound themes beneath the satirical surface.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
The loveliest scenes, he found, were comprised of the simplest, most natural juxtapositions of native plants.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
