BharatNotes Antithetical
adjectiveUsage in a UPSC answer
A surveillance architecture that monitors citizens without statutory safeguards or judicial oversight is antithetical to the constitutional vision of a liberal democracy, in which the dignity and privacy of the individual are not concessions of the state but inviolable guarantees against it.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
antithesis (n), antitheses (n pl), antithetical (adj), antithetically (adv), antithetic (adj)
Root
Greek anti- (against) + tithenai (to put, place) → antithetikos (setting in opposition); via Late Latin.
Etymology
From Greek antithetikos "setting in opposition" (from antithetos "opposed"), via Late Latin antithesis, from Greek anti- "against" + tithenai "to put, place"; entered English in the late 1500s.
Memory Hook
Break it into ANTI + THESIS: an "anti-thesis" is the exact counter-claim that stands directly against a thesis — so anything "antithetical" is dead set against, the polar opposite.
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