What does "antithetical" mean?

Pertaining to antithesis, or opposition of words and sentiments; containing, or of the nature of, antithesis; contrasted.

What is a synonym for "antithetical"?

Common synonyms include: adversary, adversative, adverse, adversive, alien, antagonistic.

How do you pronounce "antithetical"?

Pronounced //ˌæntɪˈθɛtɪkəl//.

Antithetical

//ˌæntɪˈθɛtɪkəl// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Pertaining to antithesis, or opposition of words and sentiments; containing, or of the nature of, antithesis; contrasted.
"His wrong-headed beliefs are antithetical to everything we stand for as a community."

Adjective

1
sharply contrasted in character or purpose wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

adversary adversative adverse adversive alien antagonistic

Example

More examples

"The right of a state to exist is antithetical to the principle supposedly underlying liberal democracy, that people who are subject to a state's rule have the right to abolish it."

Etymology

From Latin antitheticus + -al.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.