opposition

Universal Words noun 1 [U] ~ (to sb/sth) the act of strongly disagreeing with sb/sth, especially with the aim of preventing sth from happening: Delegates expressed strong opposition to the plans. * The army met with fierce opposition in every town. * We cannot back down at the first sign of opposition. * He spent five years in prison for his opposition to the regime. * opposition forces (= people who are arguing, fighting, etc. with another group) 2 (the opposition) [sing.+sing./pl.v.] the people you are competing against in business, a competition, a game, etc: He's gone to work for the opposition. * The opposition is / are mounting a strong challenge to our business. * Liverpool couldn't match the opposition in the final and lost 20. 3 (the Opposition) [sing.+sing./pl.v.] the main political party that is opposed to the government; the political parties that are in a parliament but are not part of the government: the leader of the Opposition * Opposition MPs / parties * the Opposition spokesman on education 4 [U,C] (formal) the state of being as different as possible; two things that are as different as possible: the opposition between good and evil * His poetry is full of oppositions and contrasts. oppositional adjective [usuallybeforenoun] (formal): oppositional groups / tactics IDIOMS in opposition (of a political party) forming part of a parliament but not part of the government: They returned to power after six years in opposition. in opposition to sb/sth 1 disagreeing strongly with sb/sth, especially with the aim of preventing sth from happening: We found ourselves in opposition to several colleagues on this issue. * Protest marches were held in opposition to the proposed law. 2 contrasting two people or things that are very different: Leisure is often defined in opposition to work.