OPPOSITION Synonyms: 53 Similar and Opposite Words

opposition

noun

ˌä-pə-ˈzi-shən

Definition of opposition

as in resistance

the inclination to resist most of the opposition to the proposed smoking ban is coming from bar owners worried about its impact on their businesses

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in oppositeness

the quality or state of being as different as possible her actions stand in direct opposition to her words

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of opposition The Schmittian focus on stability and coexistence resonates with the New Right’s opposition to forever wars and rejection of universalist schemes. — Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026 The hyperscalers may end up benefiting from opposition to data centers. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Aug. 2026 But the proposal faces sharp opposition from residents who argue the business does not fit into the character of the surrounding area. — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 24 Aug. 2026 Mamdani has continued to say his opposition is not to raising the pay of paraprofessionals, but to the way the Council did so through a one-time bonus outside of collective bargaining. — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for opposition

Recent Examples of Synonyms for opposition

Noun

Art and activism in Cuba In 2013, the artist began following the activism of the Ladies in White, the mothers and wives of political prisoners in Cuba, who have become a symbol of peaceful resistance to the dictatorship by processing to Sunday mass.

— Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
Scientists with the Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy Vermont spent the summer injecting 6,000 young elm trees with Dutch elm disease spores to test their resistance to the disease.

— ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of resistance

Noun

At about 230 kelvin, or minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the researchers found that strain could change the polarity of this Hall signal.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
The weaponization of frontier AI flips that polarity, reducing the mean time to discovery of infrastructure vulnerabilities and the potential of accelerating data exfiltration from weeks and days to hours and minutes.

— Will Townsend, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of polarity

Noun

The sale has drawn objections from the flight attendants union and a software firm that says some of the data isn’t Spirit’s to sell.

— Jeff Kleinma, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Collins, Scott, and Whitmer spent much of the past year and a half framing their objections as cautionary.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of objection

Noun

Investor attention is currently shifting toward a growing divergence within technology equities, as market capital rotates away from mega-cap tech giants and into the AI infrastructure supply chain.

— , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Why equal weight funds are beating the market The mechanics explain the divergence.

— Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of divergence

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opposites

opposition

oppositionist

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“Opposition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opposition. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of opposition

noun

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