dead set against
8
6.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
totalmente en contra
- My parents are dead set against me dropping out of school.
I was so dead set against purchasing this and I'm so happy that I did.
- I was so dead set against purchasing this and I'm so happy that I did.
- And it's really, really weird to have that happen when you feel so dead set against something for so long.
- And there's some people who were really, you know, dead set against testing because they're dead set against anything that might show a gap.
- I, I, I am dead set against solitary for young people.
- And dad was like, like, pretty like dead set against, like, you know, the idea of supporting clown college.
- And, and I started, I started bugging my, my folks for a, a mini bike of some sort, which they were, you know, dead set against.
Examples
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As you know, Dad is dead set against our marriage.
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My family is dead set against us marrying each other.
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Why are you so dead set against that kid?
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I'm dead set against it.
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It's never easy, and it's impossible if one political party is dead set against any borrowing.
Blog text (29) -
I was dead set against you entering the Derby.
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You know, those families were so dead-set against your folks getting married.
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Mike, I've got nothing against this girl, and I'm dead set against killing you.
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And the locals seem to be dead set against using the siren, even at high speeds.
Blog text (12) -
I'm pretty sure that virtually everybody reading this is dead set against Sharia law being imposed here.
Blog text (3)
Synonyms
18
6.5
Firmly decided to do something or strongly against doing it
1
3.5
Against something or someone in opinion and action
Antonyms
How Opposed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The opposition meaning is signalled by 'against' and 'dead' can function as an intensifier ('completely'), so a learner can partially infer 'firmly opposed'. However, the sense of 'set' as 'fixed/decided' (not just 'to initiate') is less obvious from the provided definition, so the full idiomatic sense may not be completely predictable without exposure. This partial predictability makes the phrase semi-transparent.
Etymology
Dead set against may come from the image of a heavy stone that is dead, meaning completely, and set into the ground so it cannot be moved. So if someone is dead set against an idea, they are as fixed as that stone and are 'firmly and completely opposed' to it.