n.
Pronunciation: an- ' ti-th ə -s ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -e · ses \ - ˌ s ē z \
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek, literally, opposition, from antitithenai to oppose, from anti- + tithenai to set ― more at DO
Date: 1529
1 a (1) : the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences (as in “ action, not words ” or “ they promised freedom and provided slavery ” ) (2) : OPPOSITION , CONTRAST <the antithesis of prose and verse> b (1) : the second of two opposing constituents of an antithesis (2) : the direct opposite <her temperament is the very antithesis of mine>
2 : the second stage of a dialectic process