Motsätta

Motsätta is a Swedish verb meaning to oppose, resist, or place against someone or something. It is commonly used to express disagreement with a proposal, plan, or policy and is often found in formal or public contexts such as politics, law, and journalism. The verb is frequently used with the reflexive pronoun sig to indicate personal opposition, in combinations like motsätta sig något (to oppose something) or motsätta sig ett förslag (to oppose a proposal).

Etymology and related forms: Motsätta is built from mot- (against) and sätta (to set), with a broad sense of putting something in opposition. The noun form motsats means “opposite.” The verb’s common past and participle forms include motsatte (past) and motsatt (opposite/participial), while the present tense is typically motsätter, and when used reflexively you would say motsätter sig.

Usage notes: In Swedish, motsätta sig is stronger and more formal than everyday phrases like ifrågasätta (to question) or inte hålla med (to disagree). It implies a deliberate, principled stance or organized resistance. In journalistic and political writing, motsätta sig a policy or proposal is a standard way to describe opposition without imputing emotion.

See also: motsats (opposite); opposition; invändning (objection). For learners, consulting a Swedish dictionary or corpus can help with conjugation patterns and common collocations.