opposable

[ uh-poh-zuh-buhl ]

/ əˈpoʊ zə bəl /

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adjective

capable of being placed opposite to something else: the opposable thumb of primates.

capable of being resisted, fought, or opposed.

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Origin of opposable

First recorded in 1660–70; oppose + -able

OTHER WORDS FROM opposable

op·pos·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·op·pos·a·ble, adjectiveun·op·pos·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby opposable

opportunistic, opportunistic infection, opportunity, opportunity cost, opportunity shop, opposable, opposable thumb, oppose, opposed, opposed-cylinder, opposed-piston engine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use opposable in a sentence

Humans and other primates such as chimps, gorillas and orangutans also benefit from the use of opposable thumbs, which can be bent over the hand to touch the tips of the other fingers.
Scientists Say: Primate|Maria Temming|May 23, 2022|Science News For Students
It remains to be seen whether other creatures with opposable-thumbs can snap, but that might be the next piece of the puzzle.
Snapping your fingers is a move worthy of a professional athlete|Elana Spivack|November 17, 2021|Popular-Science
That elemental, primitive value of what we can do as animals with opposable thumbs, I don’t want that to atrophy.
Nick Offerman Knows How to Stay Grounded|aweinberg|October 13, 2021|Outside Online
This may be because moving around a joystick with your snout is a lot harder than with opposable thumbs, or because the pigs are just not as good at the task as primates.
Pigs can play video games. Here’s why that matters.|By Rebecca E. Nordquist/The Conversation|February 16, 2021|Popular-Science

If frogs had opposable thumbs, Kermit would be twiddling them when Muppets Most Wanted begins.
‘Muppets Most Wanted’ Is a Perfect (Utterly Silly) Muppet Movie|Kevin Fallon|March 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the Didelphyidae the foot is broad, all five digits are well developed, and the hallux is opposable to the others.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
In the Phalangers and Koalas though the second and third toes are very slender, the hallux is well developed and opposable.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
It had the same place in crustacean development that the opposable thumb is believed to have had in that of man.
The Appendages, Anatomy, and Relationships of Trilobites|Percy Edward Raymond
What a comedy that man should work so hard to prove that his chief glory is his opposable thumb, or a few ounces of brain matter!
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler
Both thumb and great toe are opposable; but the foot is a true foot, and the hand a true hand, in anatomical structure.
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler

British Dictionary definitions for opposable

opposable

/ (əˈpəʊzəbəl) /

adjective

capable of being opposed

Also: apposable (of the thumb of primates, esp man) capable of being moved into a position facing the other digits so as to be able to touch the ends of each

capable of being placed opposite something else

Derived forms of opposable

opposably, adverbopposability, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012