0                  ‘Is it better now?’ ‘Quite the opposite, I’m afraid..’ “ijfi

” “iMlEffiS-o. ” HI .opposites at­tract used to say that people who are very different are often attracted to each other +0S.+0/jA: +0l?1+0pK.

uprep. 1 on the other side of a particular area from sb/sth, and usually facing them -^■■•+0^t; £ • • • Ztf ffi: I sat opposite him during the meal (— on the other side of the table). J$ |WI ^ ft fife [ft Z+ ® 0 0 The bank is opposite the supermarket (= on the other side of the road). Hff AH0 Write your address opposite (= next to) your name.          — picture o

front n. 2 acting in a film/movie or play as the partner of sb ftf ••• ^$1; % •••          ft : She starred

opposite Tom Hanks.

op pos ition 0-w ^npa'zijn; NAmE ,a:pa-/ noun

1                  [U] ~ (to sb/sth) the act of strongly disagreeing with

sb/sth, especially with the aim of preventing sth from happening (       Hzft, S.trC, Z+ +tl: Delegates

expressed strong opposition to the plans, ft A M ffL Z+ jyr&i if o 0 The army met with fierce opposition in every town.      0

He spent five years in prison for his opposition to the regime,   0

opposition forces (= people who are arguing, fighting, etc. with another group) Jx Z+ ^ ft 2 the opposition [sing.+sing./pl. v.] the people you are competing against in business, a competition, a game, etc. (

) Z+fv          He’s gone to work for

the opposition, lift ft ;*!;#• Z+XX# To 0 The opposition is/are mounting a strong challenge to our business. Z+ft 0 Liverpool couldn’t match the opposition in the final and lost 2-0. +i] $9 fft PA A&ff XX&Z+T, U0:2mwtmo 3 the Oppos­ition [sing.+sing./pl. v.] the main political party that is opposed to the government; the political parties that are in a parliament but are not part of the government J/rtlfc;    the leader of the Opposition Rtf it

o Opposition MPs/parties fcM$£i$Un;         o

the Opposition spokesman on education AWA 4 [U, C] (formal) the state of being as different as possible; two things that are as different as possible ft A;          the opposition between good and evil

# ftf ift Z+ A 0 His poetry is full of oppositions and contrasts,  T► oppositional

/-Janl/ adj. [usually before noun] (formal) : oppositional groups/tactics Xf 19          in oppo'sition (of

a political party jj& ^) forming part of a parliament but not part of the government AZ+3£lft; & if (ft in oppo sition to sb/sth 1 disagreeing strongly with sb/sth, especially with the aim of preventing sth from happening rfiij ) MA/.’|£: Protest

marches were held in opposition to the proposed law. ft +A iA §r +1 ft ^ M ^ +T T X        +7 0 2 contrasting two

people or things that are very different /ft t; Zf M: Leisure is often defined in opposition to work, ff if] # £AftXfEiftMffi0

op-press /a'pres/ verb [VN] 1 to treat sb in a cruel and unfair way, especially by not giving them the same freedom, rights, etc. as other people JEE ill ; HE; fE fi] : The regime is accused of oppressing religious minorities. K flH fa S &X $ tfc'JEE it ft ffc % He ft Vk«, 2 to make sb only able to think about sad or worrying things JBEflp; f£ H It; 01t$J: The gloomy atmosphere in the office oppressed her.

ft] 0 HTFI weigh down ► op-pres-sion /a'prejn/ noun [U]: victims of oppression it#

op-pressed /a'prest/ adj. 1 treated in a cruel and unfair way and not given the same freedom, rights, etc. as other people W HE. it (ft ; it IF ift : oppressed minorities $uEiliWftlWl£ 2 the oppressed noun [pi.] people who are oppressed MffiiiAi

op pres sive /a'presiv/ adj. 1 treating people in a cruel and unfair way and not giving them the same freedom, rights, etc. as other people jEE it ; fErMttfJ; itf JEE W: oppressive laws Zf p]Sff A69H         0 an oppressive

regime +%!lf$i§it+X. 2 (of the weather X A) extremely hot and unpleasant and lacking fresh air     ; ft A

Sf B ift £jk2H stifling : oppressive heat Zf£ M Eft IS H 3 making you feel unhappy and anxious ftAT^rfl Eft;

ftAiyIEft: an oppressive relationship ftAXtSiEftft^ EHA stifling ► op-pres-sive-ly adv. ; to behave oppressively A IS # 31       A o oppressively hot ft

A M M O He suffered from an oppressively dominant mother,

op pressor /a'presaft)/ noun a person or group of people that treats sb in a cruel and unfair way, espe­cially by not giving them the same rights, etc. as other people         Ilk

op pro brium /a'praubriam; NAmE a'prou-/ noun [U] (formal) severe criticism of a person, country, etc. by a large group of people ( ft AW ) iM, jHat, +¥ft ► op pro bri ous /a'praubrias; NAmE a'prou-/ adj.: an opprobrious remark

'op shop noun (AustralE, NZ£) = opportunity shop opt /Dpt; NAmE dipt/ verb ~ (for/against sth) to choose to take or not to take a particular course of action izfe#; M :     [V] After graduating she opted for a career in

music.          0 [V to inf] Many

workers opted to leave their jobs rather than take a pay cut. ffi^XAAIfT     o note at choose

isiiiATi ,opt 'in (to sth) to choose to be part of a system or an agreement Aae-ApA;  ,opt 'out (of sth)

1 to choose not to take part in sth A^ilft;

-fef: Employees may opt out of the company’s pension

plan, m (asij0 2 (of a school or hospital in Britain   to

choose not to be under the control of the local author­ity -Sit Aft — related noun opt-out optic /'Dptik; NAmE 'cup-/ adj., noun * adj. [usually before noun] (technical Ain) connected with the eye or the sense of sight BUfHJ;     : the optic

nerve (= from the eye to the brain) +1#^ unoun a device for measuring amounts of strong alco­holic drinks in a bar       )

op tical /‘uptikl; NAmE 'a:p-/ adj. [usually before noun] 1 connected with the sense of sight or the relationship between light and sight +jft A?          ; ft ^ W :

optical effects        2 used to help you see sth more

clearly A$}Xf£ft ; Af W: optical aids illo optical instruments such as microscopes and telescopes £ 3 (computing if) using light for reading or storing information ftff fit (ft:

optical storage      o an optical disk ftlk ► op-tic-

al-ly /-kli/ adv.

.optical character recognition noun[\J] (abbr. OCR) (computing if) the process of using light to record printed information onto disks for use in a computer system ffMiPM (    WJX#, WMXit

mmm \

.optical 'fibre (BrE) (NAmE .optical 'fiber) noun [C, u] a thin glass thread through which light can be trans­mitted (= sent)          ffM