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

Drugmakers have opposed the Medicare drug-price negotiations because they say they jeopardize their ability to fund research and development of new medicines.

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In October, he told reporters that he was “very much opposed” to the decision by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to raid a Hyundai car battery plant in Georgia.

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The comments by Williams and Daly are significant because they follow a period when officials who opposed a cut dominated the public debate.

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But the fact that it was trained primarily on Google’s Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, as opposed to its rivals’ reliance on Nvidia chips, is more important.

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But the proposal is fiercely opposed by Japan, which consumes large quantities of eel and has launched a concerted lobbying effort to ensure the amendment fails.

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Related Words

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