/,ɒpə'zɪʃn; ,ɑpə`zɪʃən/
n
1 [U] ~ (to sb/sth) state or action of opposing (sb/sth); resistance 反对; 敌对; 相反; 相对; 抵抗; 对抗
*violent opposition to the new committee 对新委员会的强烈反对
* There's not much opposition to the scheme. 反对该规划的意见不太多.
* Her proposal met with strong opposition. 她的建议遭到强烈反对.
* The army came up against fierce opposition in every town. 军队在各个城镇都遇到顽强抵抗.
2 [Gp] people who oppose (sb); competitors; rivals 反对派; 竞争者; 对手; 敌手
*The opposition have a strong defence. 对方防卫力量很强.
* Before setting up in business, she wanted to get to know the opposition. 她开业之前想了解一下竞争者的情形.
3 the Opposition [Gp] (politics 政 esp Brit) (MPs of the) political party or parties opposing the Government 反对党; 反对党议员
*We need an effective Opposition. 我们需要一个能起作用的反对党.
* the leader of the Opposition 反对党领袖
* [attrib 作定语] the Opposition benches, ie seats where MPs of the Opposition sit in Parliament 反对党议席
* [attrib 作定语] Opposition MPs are few in number. 反对党议员人数很少.
4 (idm 习语) in opposition (to sb/sth)
(a) opposing 相对; 面对
*We found ourselves in opposition to several colleagues on this issue. 我们在这一问题上与几个同事意见相左.
(b) forming the Opposition形成反对党
*The Conservative party was in opposition for the first time in years. 多年以来保守党第一次处于反对党的地位.

n
[U]
strong disagreement with, or protest against, something such as a plan, law, or system
opposition to
　There was a great deal of opposition to the war.
opposition from
　They face opposition from local residents as well as from environmentalists.
　He is confident in his ability to overcome all opposition with his personal charm.
　The proposals have aroused the opposition of teachers.
　Strong opposition resulted in rejection of the bill.
　Plans to turn the site into a £600 million leisure complex have met with stiff opposition .
　Much public opposition to the new law remained.
　Workers found themselves in opposition to local interests.
the opposition
in some countries such as Britain, the main political party in the parliament that is not part of the government
　the leader of the Opposition
　the three main opposition parties
in opposition
in some countries such as Britain, a political party that is in opposition is in parliament, but is not part of the government
　The Socialists were elected to power after 10 years in opposition.
[C,U also + plural verb British English]
the people who you are competing against
　They played well against good opposition.
[U and C]formal
when two things are completely opposite
opposition between
　the opposition between capitalism and socialism

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COLLOCATES for sense 1
face/meet with opposition
overcome opposition
arouse opposition/arouse the opposition of somebody (=make someone feel disagreement)
strong/fierce/intense/stiff opposition
public opposition
in opposition to something

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