oppose

See also: opposé

English

Etymology

From Middle English opposen, from Old French opposer, from Latin ob (“before, against”) + Medieval Latin pono (“to put”), taking the place of Latin opponere (“to oppose”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈpəʊz/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈpoʊz/, [ʔəpʰoʊːz̥]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊz
• Hyphenation: op‧pose

Verb

oppose (third-person singular simple present opposes, present participle opposing, simple past and past participle opposed)

1. To attempt to stop the progression of; to resist or antagonize by physical means, or by arguments, etc.; to contend against.

   Synonyms: confront, withstand, resist, hinder, obstruct, buck, react

   to oppose the king in battle

   to oppose a bill in Congress

   There is still time to oppose this plan.

   • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

     I am […] too weak / To oppose your cunning.

2. To object to.

   Synonyms: take issue with, speak out, contest, repugn, argue

   Many religious leaders oppose cloning humans.

3. To present or set up in opposition; to pose.

   They are opposed to any form of hierarchy.

   • 1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC:
     , Book I

     I may […] oppose my single opinion to his.

   • 1839, Philip Meadows Taylor, Confessions of a Thug:

     [T]hree walls had been left standing, with large intervals between each; and they would certainly oppose a most formidable interruption to an invader.

4. To place in front of, or over against; to set opposite; to exhibit.
   • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     Her grace sat down […] / In a rich chair of state; opposing freely / The beauty of her person to the people.

Conjugation

Conjugation of oppose

infinitive	(to) oppose
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	oppose	opposed
2nd-person singular	oppose, opposest†	opposed, opposedst†
3rd-person singular	opposes, opposeth†	opposed
plural	oppose
subjunctive	oppose	opposed
imperative	oppose	—
participles	opposing	opposed

^† Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}}.

• be against, fight (against), check, bar, block, prevent, take on, counter, contest, resist, confront, face, combat, defy, thwart, contradict, withstand, stand up to, hinder, struggle against, obstruct, fly in the face of, take issue with, be hostile to, counterattack, speak out against, be in opposition to, be in defiance of, strive against, set one's face against, take a stand, make a stand against, dispute

Antonyms

• support

Derived terms

• opposable

Related terms

• opponent
• opposer
• opposite
• opposition

Translations

to attempt to stop the progression of; to resist or antagonize by physical means, or by arguments, etc.

Arabic: عَارَض (ʕāraḍ) Bulgarian: противопоставям се (protivopostavjam se) Catalan: oposar (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 阻止 (zh) (zúzhǐ), 對抗 / 对抗 (zh) (duìkàng) Czech: oponovat (cs) Dutch: tegenhouden (nl), tegengaan (nl) Egyptian: (jtn) Esperanto: kontraŭi, kontraŭstari Finnish: vastustaa (fi) French: s'opposer à Galician: opoñer (gl), opor German: ablehnen (de) Greek: Ancient: ἀνθίστημι (anthístēmi) Hungarian: szembehelyezkedik (hu) Italian: opporre (it) Japanese: 阻む (ja) (はばむ, habamu), 阻止する (ja) (そしする, soshi suru), 対抗する (ja) (たいこうする, taikou suru) Latin: intercēdō, adversor, refrāgor, oppōnō (la) Lithuanian: priešintis, pasipriešinti Maori: mautohe Marathi: विरोध करणे (virodh karṇe) Polish: oponować (pl) impf, zaoponować pf, przeciwstawiać (pl) impf, przeciwstawić (pl) pf Portuguese: opor (pt) Romanian: opune (ro) Russian: препя́тствовать (ru) impf (prepjátstvovatʹ), воспрепя́тствовать (ru) pf (vosprepjátstvovatʹ), противостоять (ru) impf (protivostojatʹ) Slovak: oponovať Spanish: oponer (es) Tamil: எதிர் (ta) (etir) Telugu: ప్రతిఘటించు (te) (pratighaṭiñcu) Ukrainian: проти́витися impf (protývytysja), протистоя́ти impf (protystojáty) Vietnamese: chống đối (vi)

to object to

Arabic: اِعْتَرَضَ (iʕtaraḍa) Bulgarian: възразявам (bg) (vǎzrazjavam) Catalan: oposar (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 反对 (zh) (fǎnduì) Finnish: vastustaa (fi) Galician: opoñer (gl), opor German: widersprechen (de) Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌰𐌽 (andsakan) Hungarian: ellenez (hu) Italian: obiettare (it) Japanese: 反対する (ja) (はんたいする, hantai suru) Latin: contrādīcō Lithuanian: prieštarauti (lt) Maori: mautohe, tāwari Marathi: विरोध करणे (virodh karṇe) Polish: oponować (pl) impf, zaoponować pf, sprzeciwiać (pl) impf, sprzeciwić (pl) pf Portuguese: opor (pt) Romanian: contrazice (ro), opune (ro) Russian: возража́ть (ru) impf (vozražátʹ), возрази́ть (ru) pf (vozrazítʹ); отрица́ть (ru) impf (otricátʹ), быть против Spanish: oponer (es) Tamil: எதிர் (ta) (etir) Ukrainian: запере́чувати impf (zaperéčuvaty), запере́чити pf (zaperéčyty) Vietnamese: phản đối (vi) Welsh: gwrthwynebu (cy)

to present or set up in opposition; to pose

Dutch: tegenoverstellen (nl) Italian: essere contrari Latin: oppōnō (la) Marathi: विरोधात असणे (virodhāt asṇe) Russian: противопоставить (ru) pf (protivopostavitʹ) Tamil: எதிர் (ta) (etir)

to place in front of, or over against; to set opposite; to exhibit

Bulgarian: противопоставям (bg) (protivopostavjam) Italian: esibire (it) Russian: противопоставить (ru) pf (protivopostavitʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: (please verify) اعترض (iʕtáraɖa) French: (please verify) opposer (fr) Italian: (please verify) opporre (it) Korean: (please verify) 반대하다 (ko) (bandaehada) (bandaehada) Swedish: (please verify) opponera (sv)

Further reading

• “oppose”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “oppose”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “oppose”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• oppoes

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Verb

oppose

1. inflection of opposer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Verb

oppose

1. third-person singular past historic of opporre