Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
↔️ Completely opposite ⚪ Across a diameter
diametrical

diametrical

1 7.3
Completely opposite in feeling or opinion
  • adjective
  • /ˌdaɪəˈmɛtrɪkəl/
translation icon : diametral
  • The author also convincingly demonstrates the diametrical opposition between the concepts of man held by religion and by socialism.
  • diametrical opposition

Examples

  • Their beliefs were diametrical, leading to constant debates at the community meetings.

  • While Islam is not libertopia, it is not the diametrical opposite either.

    Blog text (21)

  • In so doing, they imagine themselves set in diametrical opposition to their society, when in fact they have unwittingly accepted its crucial structural elements.

    Academic text (1993)

  • If, for the moment, we put aside what we know about later systems of slavery, we will see that legal status evolved in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Italy in a way that was the diametrical opposite of racialized slavery in later centuries.

    Blog text (2)

  • The two candidates had diametrical views on climate change policy.

  • The philosophies of the two thinkers represent diametrical extremes in political theory.

Synonyms

opposite
vsdiametrical
245 1.0

Completely different in nature or direction

focuses on being at the far ends of a range rather than just general difference
polar
vsdiametrical
26 4.4

Completely opposite in opinion or action

is similar but applies to direct contrast at clear extreme points
diametric
vsdiametrical
1 7.9

Completely opposite in beliefs or views

is the same in meaning but written using an alternate suffix form

Antonyms

similar
∞ 1.0

Having some of the same qualities as another person or thing but not exactly the same

Compounds

diametrical opposition
8.1

Complete disagreement between two things that are exact opposites

How Opposed

diametrical
1 7.3
contradictory
  • Specialized
8.2
conflicting
7 4.2
opposed
1 3.5
different
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

diametrical positive

Morphology

diametrical = diameter (semi-transparent) = diameter + ical

The meaning 'completely opposed' is a metaphorical extension from 'diameter' rather than a direct compositional meaning.

Etymology

Diametrical comes from the same roots dia- ('across') and metron ('measure') as diameter, and you can imagine two points on exact opposite sides of a circle. That's why diametrical can also mean 'completely opposite'—like two ideas or positions at opposite ends with no middle ground.