oppositional

/ˌɑː.pəˈzɪʃ.ən.əl/

adjective

  1. Showing strong disagreement with or resistance to people in authority, rules, or accepted opinions.

    B2
    • "His oppositional attitude made it difficult for the team to agree on a plan."B2
    • "The student became increasingly oppositional when the teacher introduced stricter classroom rules."C1

  2. Relating to political opposition rather than to the government or ruling party.

    C1

    formal

    • "The oppositional parties criticized the government's new policy."B2
    • "The newspaper adopted an oppositional stance toward the proposed constitutional changes."C1

Common mistakes

  • oppositional against the plan→oppositional toward the plan

    Use toward, to, or a noun phrase after oppositional; against is not normally used directly after the adjective.

  • oppositionalism→oppositional

    The correct term is 'oppositional', not 'oppositionalism'.

Collocations

oppositional behavioroppositional attitudeoppositional stanceoppositional politicsoppositional party

Word family

opposeopposedoppositionopponent