what is the symbol of "opposite" ?

Status
Not open for further replies.

birgit33

Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Swedish
Home Country
Sweden
Current Location
Thailand
Is this the symbol of "opposite" ? Example : "black # white" ?
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Is this the symbol of "opposite" ? Example : "black # white" ?
No. I don't think we have a symbol for that (in English) - maybe in some other field. I've never encountered it.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Is this the symbol of "opposite" ? Example : "black # white" ?


Like Raymott, I've never seen a symbol for "opposite". If there were one, we wouldn't simply put it between (as in your example) two colours because "black opposite white" is an unlikely construction.

Black is the opposite of white - but then the symbol would have to mean "is the opposite of".
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Remember that we have to be careful about how we use the word ‘opposite’ in language:

"Opposites. A word might have two opposites: the opposite of short might be long or tall, depending on if we are referring to a person's hair or a person's height. The opposite of a bad case of poison ivy is not a good one, but a mild one, and the opposite of rock-hard would not be rock-soft, but might be expressed as baby-soft.
Also, it is hard to say what an opposite is. Is enemy the opposite of friend? Friend might be contrasted with enemy in a proverb like, "A thousand friends are not enough, one enemy is too many." But in naturally occurring language friend is more often connected with words like the following: "family, friends and acquaintances," "friends, neighbors, co-workers," "friends and acquaintances," etc."

Stockdale - Definition Plus Collocation in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning (TESL/TEFL)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top