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Palinkasocsi Posted 18 years ago
Vocabulary

opposite vs. to be in opposition

0Can we say that:02br
02br
00good - bad --- these two words are 01b00opposites 02b00(diametrical opposites)02br
02br
00BUT02br
02br
00in --- 01i00It was a 01b00wonderful 02b00party 02i00vs. 01i00It was a 01b00lousy02b00 party 02i00--- 'wonderful' vs. 'lousy' are NOT 01b00opposites02b00 but they are 01b00in opposition02b00?02br
02br
00In other words, do you agree that good-bad; black-white; male-female etc. are OPPOSITES, while if a pair of words cannot be cleary measured as DIAMETRICAL OPPOSITES, it is better to say that they are IN OPPOSITION (rather than they are OPPOSITES)?02br
02br
00Thank you very much.0-
  

Top answer

02br 02br 01font 00BUT02font 02br 02br 01font 00in --- 01i 00It was a 01b 00wonderful 02b 00party 02i 00vs. 01i 00It was a 01b 00lousy02b 00 party 02i 00--- 'wonderful' vs. 02font 02br 02br 01font 00In other words, do you agree that good-bad; black-white; male-female etc.

— Clive

  • 02br 02br 01font 00BUT02font 02br 02br 01font 00in --- 01i 00It was a 01b 00wonderful 02b 00party 02i 00vs.
  • 01i 00It was a 01b 00lousy02b 00 party 02i 00--- 'wonderful' vs.
  • 02font 02br 02br 01font 00In other words, do you agree that good-bad; black-white; male-female etc.
  • 02font 02br 02br 00The term 'in opposition' may perhaps be commonly used like this in technical linguistic discussions.
  • I don't know.
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9 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Can we say that:02font02br
02br
01font00good - bad --- these two words are 01b00opposites 02b00(diametrical opposites) 02font00Yes.02br
02br
01font00BUT02font02br
02br
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0Thanks Clive,02br
02br
00but you know, I am trying to make a 01b00terminological distinction02b00 between two two pairs (good-bad; wonderful-lousy) since I feel that the relation between 'good-bad' is diametrical 'oppositeness', while the 'wonderful-lousy' pair does not definitely have this obvious diametrical oppositeness relation (or can we say that
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0Hi,02br
02br
00Well, now that you have explained your thinking carefully like that, I don't see why you couldn't say that they are 'in opposition'. You just need to ensure that the people you are addressing understand what you mean.02br
02br
00You might also start using modifiers, like 'these two terms are 01i01u00somewhat02u02
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0The thing is that I am writing an essay and I should make a 01b00terminological02b00 distinction between pairs where the relation of 'oppositeness' is obvious (alive-dead) and where it is not (beautiful-lousy?bad?terrible?). I appreciate your efforts Clive, but I still don't have an answer. Any suggestions?02br
02br
00Many thanks!0-
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0Hi,02br
02br
00I said that 01font00I don't see why you couldn't say that they are 'in opposition'.02font00 Is that not satisfactory to you?02br
02br
00Best wishes again, Clive0-
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0Thanks for your persistence, Clive.05002br
02br
00The problem this time is that perhaps BOTH types of pairs (wonderful-lousy; alive-dead) could be termed01b00: to be in opposition02b00. I just wanted to find 01i00exclusive02i00 terminology for these different groups. That is terminology allowing no 01i00transitions
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0Hi,02br
02br
00I think you just need to choose a term, eg 01i01u00in opposition02u02i00, and then define it so that the reader knows the meaning that you are attaching to it.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0What a good idea!02br
02br
00All the best, Clive!0-
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0Antipode and near antipode? Antonyms and near antonyms? Do they sound good and "technical enough" for your paper?01blockquote
01cite10Palinkasocsi12cite10The problem this time is that perhaps BOTH types of pairs (wonderful-lousy; alive-dead) could be termed11b10: to be in opposition12b10. I just wanted to find 11i10ex
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