noun · neutral
opposition
UK/ˌɒpəˈzɪʃən/US/ˌɑːpəˈzɪʃən/op·po·SI·tion
The main political parties or people who are against the government, or the act of disagreeing with a policy.
Examples
“The opposition criticised the government's plan as unrealistic.”
“There was strong opposition to the proposed factory.”
“The opposition party prepared several alternative proposals.”
Band 8 sentence
“The opposition argued that the policy would widen social inequality and proposed a series of targeted reforms instead.”
Collocations
- the opposition party
- face strong opposition
- in opposition to
Word family
Common mistakes
in opposite to→in opposition to / opposed to
opposition = opponent→opposition (group/idea) / opponent (individual)
Say it for a higher band
5opponent→6resistance→7+opposition
Synonyms
resistance
opponent
Easily confused
opponent
“Her main opponent in the election was a former mayor.”
Related words
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In Society & Government
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