What does "oppositional" mean?

Of, pertaining to, or exhibiting opposition.

What is a synonym for "oppositional"?

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

Oppositional

adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of, pertaining to, or exhibiting opposition.
"And he has brought to oppositional politics the same energy and aggression that characterized his chess, attacking Mr. Putin and the Kremlin — or the regime, as he repeatedly calls it — with language rarely spoken so bluntly in Russia."

Synonyms

All synonyms

adversary adversative adverse adversive alien antagonistic

Example

More examples

"And he has brought to oppositional politics the same energy and aggression that characterized his chess, attacking Mr. Putin and the Kremlin — or the regime, as he repeatedly calls it — with language rarely spoken so bluntly in Russia."

Etymology

From opposition + -al.

Related phrases

oppositional defiant disorder

More for "oppositional"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

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