A.Word.A.Day --antithesis

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Today's Word

antithesis

PRONUNCIATION:

(an-TITH-uh-sis)

MEANING:

noun: The direct opposite; a contrast or opposition between two things.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin antithesis, from Greek antithesis, from antitithenai (to oppose), from anti- (against) + tithenai (to place). Earliest documented use: 1450.

USAGE:

“Behind the sunny aspect of Miss Woodhouse’s fortunate situation in life lies a premonitory antithesis between those of ‘the best blessings of existence’ ... and those ‘real evils’.”
J.F. Burrows; Jane Austen’s Emma; Taylor & Francis; 1968.

See more usage examples of antithesis in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -John F. Kennedy, 35th US president (29 May 1917-1963)

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