opposte

Opposte is the feminine plural form of the Italian adjective opposto, meaning opposite, opposed, or contrary. It agrees with feminine plural nouns and is used to describe things that are in opposition or facing in contrast to something else.

Etymology: It derives from Latin oppositus, the past participle of opponere, meaning to place against. The base adjective opposto has forms: masculine singular opposto, feminine singular opposta; masculine plural opposti; feminine plural opposte.

Usage: In Italian, opposte is common in philosophical, scientific, and everyday contexts. Examples: Le forze opposte si incontrarono. Le idee opposte arricchivano la discussione. Le posizioni opposte hanno reso difficile raggiungere un accordo.

Notes: The form opposte is always used with feminine plural nouns; when the noun is masculine or mixed gender, other forms apply (opposti for masculine plural, opposto/opposta for singular forms). For translation, opposte corresponds to English opposite or opposing.

See also: opposto, contrario, opposizione.

References: Dictionaries such as Treccani define opposto and show inflected forms including opposte.