Wiktionary

apposite

English

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WOTD – 15 August 2011

Etymology

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From Latin appositus, past participle of adponere, from ad- + ponere (“to put, place”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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apposite (comparative more apposite, superlative most apposite)

  1. Strikingly appropriate or relevant; well suited to the circumstance or in relation to something.
    Synonyms: to the point; see also Thesaurus:pertinent
    • c. 1833–1856, Andrew Carrick, John Addington Symonds (editors), Medical Topography of Bristol, in Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association/Volume 2/3,
      Medical Topography would be the most apposite title, since it comprehends the principal objects of investigation; [...].
    • 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Machinery in Motion”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, book the first (Poverty), page 197:
      Flora, however, received the remark as if it had been of a most apposite and agreeable nature; approvingly observing aloud that Mr. F's Aunt had a great deal of spirit.
    • [1921 [1919], H. L. Mencken, chapter 15, in The American Language, 2nd edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, →OCLC:
      Rough-neck is a capital word; it is more apposite and savory than the English navvy, and it is over-whelmingly more American.]
    • 1950 October, R. S. McNaught, “Joys of the Unexpected”, in Railway Magazine, page 689:
      On the other hand, many of the happiest railway experiences are casual events—so much so that in many cases only the keen eye and apposite knowledge of the real enthusiast spots an item of more than passing interest.
    • 1963 April, “New Books: London's Underground (Third edition revised and enlarged). By H. F. Howson. Ian Allan. 21s.”, in Modern Railways, page 288:
      Information on almost every aspect of London Transport's railways—and on the Southern Region's Waterloo & City line—is here contained, with many apposite and well-captioned illustrations, in 125 pages, all for the modest price of one guinea.
    • 2014 January 4, Danny Kruger, “The big society is not about picking litter: it is meant to be a challenge”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      And so it is good to see the big society born again, resurrected in Cameron's Christmas message. The timing was apposite: as the prime minister pointed out, many of the most active volunteers are Christians.
    • 2023 January 1, John Harris, “The wreckage of Brexit is all around us. How long can our politicians indulge in denial?”, in The Guardian‎[2]:
      As a new political year begins, those nine words seem more apposite than ever, and they snugly fit one defining fact of our national predicament: that the wreckage of Brexit is all around us but our politicians will still not acknowledge it.
    • 2023 October 11, Jonathan Jones, “Frieze London art fair review – a graveyard of creativity for tasteless one percenters”, in The Guardian‎[3], →ISSN:
      Or is that just the way art is now? The neo-Victorian craze is very apposite.
  2. Positioned at rest in respect to another, be it side-to-side, front-to-front, back-to-back, or even three-dimensionally: in apposition.
    • 1971, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, volume 34, University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies, page 262:
      In other words, they are used to name, rather than to describe. They are apposite nouns and not adjectives.
  3. Related, homologous.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:connected
    • 2000, David Skeele, “"All That Monarchs Do": The Obscured Stages of Authority in Pericles”, in Pericles: Critical Essays:
      If the shift in theatrical setting and the shift in dramaturgy are at all related, they are apposite developments, independent yet homologous signs of a changing political and cultural climate.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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apposite (plural apposites)

  1. (rare) That which is apposite; something suitable.
    • 1901, Charles L. Marson, Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln‎[4]:
      Hugh gave the boy apples or other small apposites […] , but the child was too interested in the bishop to notice the gifts.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “apposite”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Italian

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Adjective

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apposite

  1. feminine plural of apposito

Anagrams

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Latin

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Participle

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apposite

  1. vocative masculine singular of appositus

References

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  • “apposite”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “apposite”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
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