Arabic vocabulary
أَضْدَادٌopposites in Arabic
أَضْدَادٌ is how you say “opposites” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ض د د (ḍ-d-d)noun (broken plural, of ضِدّ ḍidd)Pronounced aḍdād
Meaning of opposites in Arabic
- opposites, contraries — things mutually opposed, one overpowering the other in nature — e.g. black and white, life and death
- equals, counterparts, likes — less common sense; e.g. "the people met their aḍdād" = met their equals or fellows
Aḍdād is the broken plural of ḍidd. Notably, ḍidd is itself an example of what the term aḍdād names in classical lexicography: a word carrying two contrary meanings at once (like jawn, "black" or "white") — ḍidd means both "the opposite of a thing" and, less often, "its equal or like." Correspondingly, aḍdād is used both for opposing pairs (black/white, life/death) and, more rarely, for matched equals or fellows.
Words from the same root
- ضِدٌّthe contrary/opposite of a thing; also, less commonly, its like or equal (singular of aḍdād)
- ضَدَّهُhe overcame him (in a dispute); also, he averted or turned him away from something
- ضَادّهُhe was, or became, contrary/opposed to him
- تَضَادّاthe two of them were mutually contrary, opposed to each other
- أَضَدَّhe became angry
- مُتَضَادَّانِtwo things contrary/incompatible with each other, like night and day
Common questions
- How do you say "opposites" in Arabic?
- أَضْدَادٌ (aḍdād) — the plural of ضِدّ (ḍidd), "the contrary or opposite of a thing."
- What is the singular of أَضْدَادٌ?
- ضِدّ (ḍidd), meaning "contrary/opposite"; it can also, less commonly, mean "equal" or "like."
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
وأضداد هَذِه تتولّد عَن الطَّاعَة
And the opposites of these arise from obedience.
وَأَضْدَادُ — and the opposites. wa- = 'and'; addad means 'opposites' (plural of did), heading an 'of…' phrase with the next word.
From: Returning to God →
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