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

Cool became a mainstream commodity in the 1950s with the oppositional tantrums of James Dean.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Despite all that power, Frey’s turn toward being an oppositional figure stuck.

From Slate • Nov. 3, 2025

“It almost feels like the university has become somewhat of an oppositional force against its students.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2024

The leading oppositional force against the cuts, the union organized protests, circulated petitions and helped save a handful of teaching positions before 143 faculty and 28 majors ultimately were cut.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 6, 2024

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