opposite
part of speech
noun (opposite, opposites); adjective (opposite); preposition and adverb (opposite)
meaning for a pupil
1) The opposite is the thing that is as different as can be: up is the opposite of down. tree →
2) Opposite also means facing, on the other side: the shop opposite the school. tree →
3) In shapes, opposite sides or angles are across from each other. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: Sefer Yetzirah shows that the same letters in a different order can make words with opposite meanings. In the primary lessons: In maths: opposite sides of a shape (equal in a rectangle); opposite operations (add and subtract, multiply and divide); places facing each other; the opposite of a number like 5 is −5. In English lessons: opposites (antonyms) like hot and cold. In science: opposite poles of magnets attract. In stories: «the opposite bank of the river».
examples
- Fifty loops made he in the one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain that was in the second set; the loops were opposite one to another. (Torah EXO.36.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one to another. (Torah EXO.26.5, JPS 1917) tree →
- He means to say, that the letters of the words ענג and נגע are the same, but they signify nevertheless, opposite ideas on account of transposition. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
- Opposite sides of a rectangle are equal. tree →
- Subtraction is the opposite of addition. tree →
- The shop is opposite the school. tree →
- The opposite side is 8 cm long. tree →
- Hot is the opposite of cold. tree →
- Opposite poles of a magnet pull together. tree →
- She sat opposite me at lunch. tree →
- The twins like opposite things. tree →
- Multiplication and division are opposite operations. tree →
- ‘It is just the opposite of you! tree →
note
In shapes, opposite sides of a rectangle are equal, so you can find a missing side. Opposite operations undo each other. Trap: «opposite» as a place gives no number. Spelling: opposite (double «p», one «s»). «Opposite to» and «opposite» (with no «to») are both used for places.
In the corpora
- In a hole in the opposite bank something twinkles: an eye, then a whiskered brown face.
- This is sarcasm: saying the opposite of what you mean, to mock someone.
- Baking soda is a mild alkali, the opposite of an acid.
- mǎi (dipping) is to buy and mài (falling) is to sell; only the tone tells these opposites apart.
- dis- means not or the opposite: disagree, dislike, disrespect; the slang «diss» comes from «disrespect».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «opposite» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.