antithetical

UK/ˌæntɪˈθɛtɪkəl/US/ˌæntɪˈθɛtɪkəl/

adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,627 of 15,258leans written

Antithetical means directly opposed in nature. Antithetical to everything he stood for, wholly antithetical, antithetical views.

It is stronger than different, since the two things are opposites rather than merely unlike. It takes to after it and belongs to argument rather than to description.

Definitions of antithetical

1adjectiveantitheticalDirectly opposed in nature.C2
“Secrecy of that kind is antithetical to the whole idea of a public inquiry.”

antithetical is a quality.

Where it comes from

Greek antithetikos comes from antithesis, a setting against, from anti plus tithenai, to place.

From antitheticus + -al.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

antithetical in the wild

Sometimes the objective is antithetical to normal chess, such as helping (or even compelling) the opponent to checkmate one's own king.
Chess puzzle
Reform is generally regarded as antithetical to revolution.
Reform
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is opposed to homosexuality, seeing it as antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family.
Rick Santorum's views on homosexuality
Assigning blame or issuing reprimands is antithetical to the purpose of an AAR.
After-action review
The BBC had resisted soaps as antithetical to its quality image, but began Front Line Family to encourage American intervention on Britain's behalf in World War II.
Front Line Family

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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