antipodal

1 of 2

adjective

an·tip·o·dal an-ˈti-pə-dᵊl

Synonyms of antipodal

: of or relating to the antipodes

specifically : situated at the opposite side of the earth or moon

an antipodal meridian

an antipodal continent

: diametrically opposite

an antipodal point on a sphere

: entirely opposed

a system antipodal to democracy

antipodal

2 of 2

noun

: any of three haploid cells in most angiosperms that are grouped at the end of the embryo sac farthest from the micropyle

called also antipodal cell

Examples of antipodal in a Sentence

Adjective love is antipodal to hate

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Adjective

The requirements call for at least 18,000 miles of bicycling and for riders to cross two antipodal points — in Wilcox's case, Madrid, Spain, and Wellington, New Zealand. —Scott Detrow, NPR, 18 Sep. 2024

These two antipodal scenarios hold distinct implications for where Io’s volcanism ultimately emerges on the moon’s surface. —Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023 But the realities of the stage did not match the ideals of his imagination until his encounter with the work of the man who, by any other standards, would have seemed his antipodal foil. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023 Morris intervenes both too little and too much, but the movie somehow still hits a sweet spot in the happy medium of those antipodal failings. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2023 As a leader, Hankin was antipodal to Schulman in almost every respect. —Ariel Bleicher, IEEE Spectrum, 20 Mar. 2013 That leaves us with just the upper semicircle and two antipodal points — one at each end of the semicircle. —Steve Nadis, Quanta Magazine, 24 Jan. 2023 There’s a South Dip Pole, too, but the North Dip Pole doesn’t have to be antipodal, or diametrically opposed, to it. —Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 20 Dec. 2022 If conservatives/liberals are less ignorant, but one of the two is more ignorant, then the result will be that ignorance may correlate with one of the two antipodal viewpoints, even though moderates are the most ignorant. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2011

Noun

Every one of our 10 Car of the Year contenders for 2024—put through the paces in California and Florida—is a true high-performance vehicle and a luxury vehicle, each ladling on varying ratios of these antipodal and once mutually exclusive attributes. —Robert Ross, Robb Report, 13 Feb. 2024 Mike Rampino was one of the first to propose antipodal focusing of seismic energy from massive bolide impacts as a trigger for giant basaltic eruptions. —Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 26 July 2011 More antipodal bookends expressing the pinnacle of Audi performance would be hard to imagine. —Robert Ross, Robb Report, 3 June 2022 In addition to flying high and fast, an antipodal bomber was maneuverable. —David Axe, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2021 For The New Yorker, journalist Brooke Jarvis spends time in Tasmania, examining the debate about whether this uniquely antipodal carnivore is extinct or alive, eking out its existence while avoiding scientific efforts to document it. —Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 28 June 2018 And there are no direct commercial flights between antipodal locations. —Don Sweeney, sacbee, 7 Aug. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1880, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of antipodal was in 1646

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

anti-poaching

antipodal

antipodally

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Antipodal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antipodal. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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antipodal

adjective

noun

Synonyms

Examples of antipodal in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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antipodal

adjective

noun

Synonyms

Examples of antipodal in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Share

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