antithesis

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin antithesis, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀντίθεσις (antíthesis). By surface analysis, anti- +‎ thesis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ænˈtɪ.θə.sɪs/
  • Audio (US):(file)
Examples (rhetoric)

Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863)
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

Noun

antithesis (plural antitheses)

  1. A proposition that is the diametric opposite of some other proposition.
    Hypernyms: opposite; antipode
  2. (rhetoric) A device by which two contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in parallel form; a figure of speech arranged in this manner
    • 1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Antithesis.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 22:
      Antithesis, opposing things to things,
      Oft from the contrast strength and beauty brings.
  3. (philosophy) The second stage of a dialectical process in which the thesis is negated.

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

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