Opposability

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The condition or quality of being opposable (capable of being placed opposite to something else). uncountable, usually

    "Among the Primates themselves there is a whole group of living species, the South American marmosets, that, in the fore feet at least, show no evidence of opposability, although they are strictly arboreal in habits."

  2. 2
    The condition or quality of being opposable (capable of being resisted). uncountable, usually

    "This consequence remains hidden as long as custom is thought in terms of "opposabilities" in which the States' conduct is interpreted so as to render the same norm."

Example

More examples

"Among the Primates themselves there is a whole group of living species, the South American marmosets, that, in the fore feet at least, show no evidence of opposability, although they are strictly arboreal in habits."

Etymology

From oppose + -ability.

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