juxtaposition
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Positioning close together.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
juhkstuhpuhzishuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dʒəkstəpəˈzɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of positioning close together (or side by side)
“It is the result of the juxtaposition of contrasting colors.”
The extra emphasis given to a comparison when the contrasted objects are close together.
The nearness of objects with little or no delimiter.
art
Two or more contrasting sounds, colours, styles etc. placed together for stylistic effect.
verb
To place in juxtaposition.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of positioning close together (or side by side)
Used this way, juxtaposition is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“It is the result of the juxtaposition of contrasting colors.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “juxtaposition of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: juxtaposition of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use juxtaposition
- “It is the result of the juxtaposition of contrasting colors.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.