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Opposite vs Backwards - What's the difference?

opposite | backwards |

As adjectives the difference between opposite and backwards

is that opposite is located directly across from something else, or from each other while backwards is oriented toward the back.

As adverbs the difference between opposite and backwards

is that opposite is in an opposite position while backwards is toward the back.

As a noun opposite

is something opposite or contrary to another.

As a preposition opposite

is facing, or across from.

opposite

English

Alternative forms

* (l) (archaic)

Adjective

(-)
  • Located directly across from something else, or from each other.
    • She saw him walking on the opposite side of the road.
  • Facing in the other direction.
    • They were moving in opposite directions.
  • Of either of two complementary or mutually exclusive things.
    • He has a lot of success with the opposite sex.
  • Extremely different; inconsistent; contrary; repugnant; antagonistic.
  • * Dryden
    • Novels, by which the reader is misled into another sort of pieasure opposite to that which is designed in an epic poem.
  • * John Locke
    • Particles of speech have divers, and sometimes almost opposite , significations.

    Derived terms

    * opposite sex

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something opposite or contrary to another.
  • An opponent.
  • An antonym.
    • "Up" is the opposite of "down".
  • (mathematics) An additive inverse.

    • Derived terms

    * opposites attract

    Adverb

    (-)
  • In an opposite position.
    • I was on my seat and she stood opposite .

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Facing, or across from.
  • :
  • *
  • *:It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street.. He halted opposite the Privy Gardens, and, with his face turned skywards, listened until the sound of the Tower guns smote again on the ear and dispelled his doubts.
  • In a complementary role to.
  • :

    • See also

    * apposite

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words ----

    backwards

    English

    Alternative forms

    * backward

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Oriented toward the back.
    • The battleship had three backwards guns at the stern, in addition to the primary complement .
  • Reversed.
    • The backwards lettering on emergency vehicles makes it possible to read in the rear-view mirror.
  • (derogatory) Behind current trends or technology.
    • Modern medicine regards the use of leeches as a backwards practice.
  • Clumsy, inept, or inefficient.
    • He was a very backwards scholar, but he was a marvel on the football field.

    Usage notes

    * In senses 3 and 4, and often in American English, backward is preferred.

    Synonyms

    * (oriented toward the back) * (reversed) mirror image, switched, back to front * (behind current trends or technology) crude, dated, obsolete, primitive * awkward, fumbling, incompetent, poor

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • Toward the back.
    • The cabinet toppled over backwards .
    Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards . —Søren Kierkegaard
  • In the opposite direction to usual.
    • The clock did not work because the battery was inserted backwards .
  • In a manner such that the back precedes the front.
    • The tour guide walked backwards while droning on to the bored seniors.

    Usage notes

    * In written American English, backward is more common. * Strictly speaking, backwards'' is an adverb and ''backward is an adjective in British English; in American English, the rule may be reversed. This follows the same usage for similar words ending in -ward/-wards and -way/-ways. See also -wise. *: It was a backward move'' vs ''He moved backwards * Also, even though an adverb may be used in adjectival combinations (eg a quickly moving car ), only the -ward forms are commonly used in adjectival combinations, e.g.: *: A backward-facing statue. / A backward facing statue.

    Synonyms

    * (toward the back) hindwards, rearward, retrograde * (in the opposite direction of usual) contrariwise, reversedly * (so that the back precedes the front) back to front, in reverse

    Derived terms

    * backwards and forwards

    Anagrams

    *