oppositional

American  

[op-uh-zish-uh-nl] / ˌɒp əˈzɪʃ ə nl /

Rarely oppositionary

adjective

1. opposing, resisting, or combating; expressing a view or stance against something or someone.

   In experimental film one often finds an oppositional attitude toward mainstream culture, and a desire to forge an alternative.

2. expressing antagonism or hostility.

   Learning effective coping skills can reduce the negative influences of anger, oppositional behavior, and poor impulse control.

3. relating to or being in a contrastive, symmetrical, or complementary two-way relation.

   This remote-controlled wooden floor lamp is a simple, efficient, seemingly oppositional pairing of the natural and technological.

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Other Word Forms

• unoppositional adjective

Etymology

Origin of oppositional

opposition ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

He also presents Christina Crawford as a bitter, oppositional personality from early on, and he quotes other family members who insist they saw none of the abuse alleged in “Mommie Dearest.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

From its inception, the facility faced widespread public opposition, including mass protests, forest defense occupations, and hundreds of hours of oppositional public comment.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2025

“Helen was just so weird and incorporated so many strange, oppositional things at the same time,” says Knightley, who also liked the idea of working close to home.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2024

This oppositional energy sustains a story you've already seen some version of before – in fact, you probably watched it with enthusiasm when 2023 was new.

From Salon • Sep. 10, 2023

It brought together the old revolutionary rhetoric, even deploying some familiar Jeffersonian language, with all the oppositional energy of the Whig tradition, then hurled it at assumption as the new incarnation of foreign domination.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis