opposed

[uh-pohzd]

adjective

1. hostile or resistant (usually followed byto ).

   At a town hall meeting about the proposed desalination plant, most speakers were opposed, citing high costs and the effect on marine life.

   Some educators are opposed to bringing new media tools into classes, viewing them as a potential distraction for students.

2. having contrary effects; operating at cross-purposes.

   How do we interpret these seemingly opposed trends—away from organized religion and toward the formation of strong spiritual beliefs?

3. set against or contrasted with something else or with each other; viewed as contrary or competing.

   The opposed images on the book’s title page represent the two very different understandings of “home” featured in the narrative.

4. situated, existing, or growing in opposite directions.

   There are two diametrically opposed arrows on the signpost, and we have no idea which one to follow.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of oppose.

Other Word Forms

• preopposed adjective
• quasi-opposed adjective
• unopposed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of opposed¹

First recorded in 1450–1500; oppose ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. as opposed to, in contrast to; rather than.

   The new boss is intuitive as opposed to analytical, and conflict-shy as opposed to aggressive.

Example Sentences

The mayor and City Council in Tucson, home of the University of Arizona, formally opposed the compact, calling it an “unacceptable act of federal interference.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

I’m just trying to be doing something that I enjoy, as opposed to it being this misery filled sort of thing, or a thing where it’s so contingent on fitting in with everyone else.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When the state’s teachers unions opposed the effort because it would have limited their autonomy in the classroom, the Legislature stopped the bill in its tracks.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The two dissented from the Fed’s decision to hold rates steady in late July, marking the first time in 32 years that two Fed governors opposed the majority’s decision.

Read more on MarketWatch

The commission’s Republican members opposed the across-the-board regulation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• anti 
• antithetical 
• averse 
• disputed 
• hostile 
• inimical 
• opposing