antithesis of store

Related Words and Phrases

Bottom_desktop desktop:[300x250].

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder
• Word of the Day
• Synonym of the Day
• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials
• Commonly confused
• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips

Advertisement

noun as in collection, supply

Strongest match

Strong matches

abundance , accumulation , backlog , cache , fount , fountain , fund , hoard , inventory , lode , lot , mine , plenty , plethora , provision , quantity , reserve , reservoir , savings , spring , stockpile , treasure , wares , wealth , well

noun as in place for keeping supply

Strongest matches

bank , box , depot , magazine

arsenal , barn , cache , conservatory , depository , pantry , repository , reservoir , stable , storehouse , storeroom , tank , treasury , vault , warehouse

noun as in business establishment that sells goods

boutique , chain store , convenience store , deli , department store , discount store , drugstore , emporium , grocery store , market , outlet , shop , shopping center , showroom , supermarket

mart , repository , stand , storehouse , super

Weak matches

discount house , five-and-dime , five-and-ten , specialty shop , superette

verb as in collect and put aside

accumulate , bury , deposit , freeze , hide , hoard , keep , lock away , pack , put , save , stash , stockpile

amass , bank , bin , bottle , cache , can , cumulate , garner , hive , hutch , mothball , park , reserve , squirrel away , stock up , treasure , victual , warehouse

keep in reserve , lay away , lay up , lock up , pack away , put away , put by , put in storage , roll up , salt away , save for rainy day , sock away

Discover More

Example sentences.

Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider took to social media to condemn anti-maskers who went into a Florida Target store blaring the group’s hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” while ripping off their masks.

It also could help slow climate change, she notes, by storing more carbon where it can’t be released into the air.

Snowflake started out going after just one part of the database market, the data warehouses that stored big data and fed business analytics apps.

The Cupertino-based company is reportedly launching an online store in the world’s second-largest smartphone market later this month.

It’s also incredibly easy to store and carry from one place to another.

Here they are semi-touching at a grocery store; she likes kombucha.

He was born in an apartment above the grocery store owned by his immigrant parents in South Jamaica, Queens.

Along the way, Brinsley turned into a drug store, but it is not clear whether he bought anything.

The people you work with, or see at your grocery store, or your church?

It's nothing for someone to walk up to me in the store or at a restaurant and ask for an autograph or speak to me.

This gives to the second volume something of the smell of an apple store-room.

In this traffic he made money so fast that he opened an office, and subsequently a store of his own, in the Escolta.

The dry earth, sun-baked to a depth of many feet, was giving off its store of heat accumulated during the day.

At the store he would never have given in, but he was not accustomed to hearing so loud a murmur of approval greet the opposition.

That she was a product of the prairies and a wonderful future was in store for her because of the fact that her work was original.

Related Words

Words related to store are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word store . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in abundance

verb as in gather or amass something

• agglomerate
• bring together
• concentrate
• draw together
• heap together
• incorporate
• make a bundle
• make a killing

noun as in gathering or amassing

• agglomeration
• aggrandizement
• aggregation
• augmentation
• conglomeration
• enlargement
• intensification
• multiplication

verb as in gather, accumulate

• make a pile

Viewing 5 / 121 related words

On this page you'll find 250 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to store, such as: stock, abundance, accumulation, backlog, cache, and fount.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

• Literary Terms
• Definition & Examples
• How to Use Antithesis

I. What is an Antithesis?

“Antithesis” literally means “opposite” – it is usually the opposite of a statement, concept, or idea. In literary analysis, an antithesis is a pair of statements or images in which the one reverses the other. The pair is written with similar grammatical structures to show more contrast. Antithesis (pronounced an-TITH-eh-sis) is used to emphasize a concept, idea, or conclusion.

II. Examples of Antithesis

That’s one small step for a man – one giant leap for mankind .  (Neil Armstrong, 1969)

In this example, Armstrong is referring to man walking on the moon. Although taking a step is an ordinary activity for most people, taking a step on the moon, in outer space, is a major achievement for all humanity.

To err is human ; to forgive , divine . (Alexander Pope)

This example is used to point out that humans possess both worldly and godly qualities; they can all make mistakes, but they also have the power to free others from blame.

The world will little note , nor long remember , what we say here, but it can never forget what they did  (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address )

In his speech, Lincoln points out that the details of that moment may not be memorable, but the actions would make history, and therefore, never entirely forgotten.

Antithesis can be a little tricky to see at first. To start, notice how each of these examples is separated into two parts . The parts are separated either by a dash, a semicolon, or the word “but.” Antithesis always has this multi-part structure (usually there are two parts, but sometimes it can be more, as we’ll see in later examples). The parts are not always as obvious as they are in these examples, but they will always be there.

Next, notice how the second part of each example contains terms that reverse or invert terms in the first part: small step vs. giant leap; human vs. divine; we say vs. they do. In each of the examples, there are several pairs of contrasted terms between the first part and the second, which is quite common in antithesis.

Finally, notice that each of the examples contains some parallel structures and ideas in addition to the opposites. This is key! The two parts are not simply contradictory statements. They are a matched pair that have many grammatical structures or concepts in common; in the details, however, they are opposites.

For example, look at the parallel grammar of Example 1: the word “one,” followed by an adjective, a noun, and then the word “for.” This accentuates the opposites by setting them against a backdrop of sameness – in other words, two very different ideas are being expressed with very, very similar grammatical structures.

To recap: antithesis has three things:

• Two or more parts
• Reversed or inverted ideas
• (usually) parallel grammatical structure

III. The Importance of Verisimilitude

Antithesis is basically a complex form of juxtaposition . So its effects are fairly similar – by contrasting one thing against its opposite, a writer or speaker can emphasize the key attributes of whatever they’re talking about. In the Neil Armstrong quote, for example, the tremendous significance of the first step on the moon is made more vivid by contrasting it with the smallness and ordinariness of the motion that brought it about.

Antithesis can also be used to express curious contradictions or paradoxes. Again, the Neil Armstrong quote is a good example: Armstrong is inviting his listeners to puzzle over the fact that a tiny, ordinary step – not so different from the millions of steps we take each day – can represent so massive a technological accomplishment as the moon landing.

Paradoxically, an antithesis can also be used to show how two seeming opposites might in fact be similar.

IV. Examples of Verisimilitude in Literature

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Forgive us this day our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us . (The Lord’s Prayer)

The antithesis is doing a lot of work here. First, it shows the parallel between committing an evil act and being the victim of one. On the surface, these are opposites, and this is part of the antithesis, but at the same time they are, in the end, the same act from different perspectives. This part of the antithesis is basically just an expression of the Golden Rule.

Second, the antithesis displays a parallel between the speaker (a human) and the one being spoken to (God). The prayer is a request for divine mercy, and at the same time a reminder that human beings should also be merciful.

All the joy the world contains has come through wanting happiness for others . All the misery the world contains has come through wanting pleasure for yourself . (Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva )

The antithesis here comes with some pretty intense parallel structure. Most of the words in each sentence are exactly the same as those in the other sentence. (“All the ___ the world contains has come through wanting ____ for ____.”) This close parallel structure makes the antithesis all the more striking, since the words that differ become much more visible.

Another interesting feature of this antithesis is that it makes “pleasure” and “happiness” seem like opposites, when most of us might think of them as more or less synonymous. The quote makes happiness seem noble and exalted, whereas pleasure is portrayed as selfish and worthless.

The proper function of man is to live , not to exist . I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong  (Jack London, Credo )

The opening antithesis here gets its punch from the fact that we think of living and existing as pretty similar terms. But for London, they are opposites. Living is about having vivid experiences, learning, and being bold; simply existing is a dull, pointless thing. These two apparently similar words are used in this antithesis to emphasize the importance of living as opposed to mere existing.

The second antithesis, on the other hand, is just the opposite – in this case, London is taking two words that seem somewhat opposed (waste and prolong), and telling us that they are in fact the same . Prolonging something is making it last; wasting something is letting it run out too soon. But, says London, when it comes to life, they are the same. If you try too hard to prolong your days (that is, if you’re so worried about dying that you never face your fears and live your life), then you will end up wasting them because you will never do anything worthwhile.

V. Examples of Verisimilitude in Pop Culture

Everybody doesn’t like something, but nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee. (Sara Lee pastry advertisement)

This classic ad uses antithesis to set up a deliberate grammatical error. This is a common technique in advertising, since people are more likely to remember a slogan that is grammatically incorrect. (Even if they only remember it because they found it irritating, it still sticks in their brain, which is all that an ad needs to do.) The antithesis helps make the meaning clear, and throws the grammatical error into sharper relief.

What men must know , a boy must learn . (The Lookouts)

Here’s another example of how parallel structure can turn into antithesis fairly easily. (The structure is noun-“must”-verb. ) The antithesis also expresses the basic narrative of The Lookouts , which is all about kids learning to fend for themselves and become full-fledged adults.

Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes (the band “AFI” – album title)

The antithesis here is a juxtaposition of two different actions (opening and shutting) that are actually part of the same sort of behavior – the behavior of somebody who wants to understand the world rather than be the center of attention. It’s basically a restatement of the old adage that “those who speak the most often have the least to say.”

VI. Related Terms

• Juxtaposition

Antithesis is basically a form of juxtaposition . Juxtaposition, though, is a much broader device that encompasses any deliberate use of contrast or contradiction by an author. So, in addition to antithesis, it might include:

• The scene in “The Godfather” where a series of brutal murders is intercut with shots of a baptism, juxtaposing birth and death.
• “A Song of Ice and Fire” (George R. R. Martin book series)
• Heaven and Hell
• Mountains and the sea
• Dead or alive
• “In sickness and in health”

Antithesis performs a very similar function, but does so in a more complicated way by using full sentences (rather than single words or images) to express the two halves of the juxtaposition.

Here is an antithesis built around some of the common expressions from above

• “ Sheep go to Heaven ; goats go to Hell .”
• “Beethoven’s music is as mighty as the mountains and as timeless as the sea .”
• “In sickness he loved me; in health he abandoned ”

Notice how the antithesis builds an entire statement around the much simpler juxtaposition. And, crucially, notice that each of those statements exhibits parallel grammatical structure . In this way, both Juxtaposition and parallel structures can be used to transform a simple comparison, into antithesis.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

Antithesis Definition

What is antithesis? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Antithesis is a figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting or opposing ideas, usually within parallel grammatical structures. For instance, Neil Armstrong used antithesis when he stepped onto the surface of the moon in 1969 and said, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." This is an example of antithesis because the two halves of the sentence mirror each other in grammatical structure, while together the two halves emphasize the incredible contrast between the individual experience of taking an ordinary step, and the extraordinary progress that Armstrong's step symbolized for the human race.

Some additional key details about antithesis:

• Antithesis works best when it is used in conjunction with parallelism (successive phrases that use the same grammatical structure), since the repetition of structure makes the contrast of the content of the phrases as clear as possible.
• The word "antithesis" has another meaning, which is to describe something as being the opposite of another thing. For example, "love is the antithesis of selfishness." This guide focuses only on antithesis as a literary device.
• The word antithesis has its origins in the Greek word antithenai , meaning "to oppose." The plural of antithesis is antitheses.

How to Pronounce Antithesis

Here's how to pronounce antithesis: an- tith -uh-sis

Antithesis and Parallelism

Often, but not always, antithesis works in tandem with parallelism . In parallelism, two components of a sentence (or pair of sentences) mirror one another by repeating grammatical elements. The following is a good example of both antithesis and parallelism:

To err is human , to forgive divine .

The two clauses of the sentence are parallel because each starts off with an infinitive verb and ends with an adjective ("human" and "divine"). The mirroring of these elements then works to emphasize the contrast in their content, particularly in the very strong opposite contrast between "human" and "divine."

Antithesis Without Parallelism

In most cases, antitheses involve parallel elements of the sentence—whether a pair of nouns, verbs, adjectives, or other grammar elements. However, it is also possible to have antithesis without such clear cut parallelism. In the Temptations Song "My Girl," the singer uses antithesis when he says:

"When it's cold outside , I've got the month of May ."

Here the sentence is clearly cut into two clauses on either side of the comma, and the contrasting elements are clear enough. However, strictly speaking there isn't true parallelism here because "cold outside" and "month of May" are different types of grammatical structures (an adjective phrase and a noun phrase, respectively).

Antithesis vs. Related Terms

Three literary terms that are often mistakenly used in the place of antithesis are juxtaposition , oxymoron , and foil . Each of these three terms does have to do with establishing a relationship of difference between two ideas or characters in a text, but beyond that there are significant differences between them.

Antithesis vs. Juxtaposition

In juxtaposition , two things or ideas are placed next to one another to draw attention to their differences or similarities. In juxtaposition, the pairing of two ideas is therefore not necessarily done to create a relationship of opposition or contradiction between them, as is the case with antithesis. So, while antithesis could be a type of juxtaposition, juxtaposition is not always antithesis.

Antithesis vs. Oxymoron

In an oxymoron , two seemingly contradictory words are placed together because their unlikely combination reveals a deeper truth. Some examples of oxymorons include:

• Sweet sorrow
• Cruel kindness
• Living dead

The focus of antithesis is opposites rather than contradictions . While the words involved in oxymorons seem like they don't belong together (until you give them deeper thought), the words or ideas of antithesis do feel like they belong together even as they contrast as opposites. Further, antitheses seldom function by placing the two words or ideas right next to one another, so antitheses are usually made up of more than two words (as in, "I'd rather be among the living than among the dead").

Antithesis vs. Foil

Some Internet sources use "antithesis" to describe an author's decision to create two characters in a story that are direct opposites of one another—for instance, the protagonist and antagonist . But the correct term for this kind of opposition is a foil : a person or thing in a work of literature that contrasts with another thing in order to call attention to its qualities. While the sentence "the hare was fast, and the tortoise was slow" is an example of antithesis, if we step back and look at the story as a whole, the better term to describe the relationship between the characters of the tortoise and the hare is "foil," as in, "The character of the hare is a foil of the tortoise."

Antithesis Examples

Antithesis in literature.

Below are examples of antithesis from some of English literature's most acclaimed writers — and a comic book!

Antithesis in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities

In the famous opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities , Dickens sets out a flowing list of antitheses punctuated by the repetition of the word "it was" at the beginning of each clause (which is itself an example of the figure of speech anaphora ). By building up this list of contrasts, Dickens sets the scene of the French Revolution that will serve as the setting of his tale by emphasizing the division and confusion of the era. The overwhelming accumulation of antitheses is also purposefully overdone; Dickens is using hyperbole to make fun of the "noisiest authorities" of the day and their exaggerated claims. The passage contains many examples of antithesis, each consisting of one pair of contrasting ideas that we've highlighted to make the structure clearer.

It was the best of times , it was the worst of times , it was the age of wisdom , it was the age of foolishness , it was the epoch of belief , it was the epoch of incredulity , it was the season of Light , it was the season of Darkness , it was the spring of hope , it was the winter of despair , we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven , we were all going direct the other way —in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Antithesis in John Milton's Paradise Lost

In this verse from Paradise Lost , Milton's anti-hero , Satan, claims he's happier as the king of Hell than he could ever have been as a servant in Heaven. He justifies his rebellion against God with this pithy phrase, and the antithesis drives home the double contrast between Hell and Heaven, and between ruling and serving.

Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

Antithesis in William Shakespeare's Othello

As the plot of Othello nears its climax , the antagonist of the play, Iago, pauses for a moment to acknowledge the significance of what is about to happen. Iago uses antithesis to contrast the two opposite potential outcomes of his villainous plot: either events will transpire in Iago's favor and he will come out on top, or his treachery will be discovered, ruining him.

This is the night That either makes me or fordoes me quite .

In this passage, the simple word "either" functions as a cue for the reader to expect some form of parallelism, because the "either" signals that a contrast between two things is coming.

Antithesis in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Shakespeare's plays are full of antithesis, and so is Hamlet's most well-known "To be or not to be" soliloquy . This excerpt of the soliloquy is a good example of an antithesis that is not limited to a single word or short phrase. The first instance of antithesis here, where Hamlet announces the guiding question (" to be or not to be ") is followed by an elaboration of each idea ("to be" and "not to be") into metaphors that then form their own antithesis. Both instances of antithesis hinge on an " or " that divides the two contrasting options.

To be or not to be , that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them ...

Antithesis in T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets"

In this excerpt from his poem "Four Quartets," T.S. Eliot uses antithesis to describe the cycle of life, which is continuously passing from beginning to end, from rise to fall, and from old to new.

In my beginning is my end . In succession Houses rise and fall , crumble, are extended, Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place Is an open field, or a factory, or a by-pass. Old stone to new building , old timber to new fires ...

Antithesis in Green Lantern's Oath

Comic book writers know the power of antithesis too! In this catchy oath, Green Lantern uses antithesis to emphasize that his mission to defeat evil will endure no matter the conditions.

In brightest day , in blackest night , No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might Beware my power—Green lantern's light!

While most instances of antithesis are built around an "or" that signals the contrast between the two parts of the sentence, the Green Lantern oath works a bit differently. It's built around an implied "and" (to be technical, that first line of the oath is an asyndeton that replaces the "and" with a comma), because members of the Green Lantern corps are expressing their willingness to fight evil in all places, even very opposite environments.

Antithesis in Speeches

Many well-known speeches contain examples of antithesis. Speakers use antithesis to drive home the stakes of what they are saying, sometimes by contrasting two distinct visions of the future.

Antithesis in Patrick Henry's Speech to the Second Virginia Convention, 1775

This speech by famous American patriot Patrick Henry includes one of the most memorable and oft-quoted phrases from the era of the American Revolution. Here, Henry uses antithesis to emphasize just how highly he prizes liberty, and how deadly serious he is about his fight to achieve it.

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take: but as for me, give me liberty or give me death .

Antithesis in Martin Luther King Jr.'s Oberlin Commencement Address

In this speech by one of America's most well-known orators, antithesis allows Martin Luther King Jr. to highlight the contrast between two visions of the future; in the first vision, humans rise above their differences to cooperate with one another, while in the other humanity is doomed by infighting and division.

We must all learn to live together as brothers —or we will all perish together as fools .

Antithesis in Songs

In songs, contrasting two opposite ideas using antithesis can heighten the dramatic tension of a difficult decision, or express the singer's intense emotion—but whatever the context, antithesis is a useful tool for songwriters mainly because opposites are always easy to remember, so lyrics that use antithesis tend to stick in the head.

Antithesis in "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash (1981)

In this song by The Clash, the speaker is caught at a crossroads between two choices, and antithesis serves as the perfect tool to express just how confused and conflicted he is. The rhetorical question —whether to stay or to go—presents two opposing options, and the contrast between his lover's mood from one day (when everything is "fine") to the next (when it's all "black") explains the difficulty of his choice.

One day it's fine and next it's black So if you want me off your back Well, come on and let me know Should I stay or should I go ? Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now? If I go, there will be trouble If I stay it will be double ...

Antithesis in "My Girl" by the Temptations (1965)

In this song, the singer uses a pair of metaphors to describe the feeling of joy that his lover brings him. This joy is expressed through antithesis, since the singer uses the miserable weather of a cloudy, cold day as the setting for the sunshine-filled month of May that "his girl" makes him feel inside, emphasizing the power of his emotions by contrasting them with the bleak weather.

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day When it's cold outside I've got the month of May Well I guess you'd say, What can make me feel this way? My girl, my girl, my girl Talkin' bout my girl.

Why Do Writers Use Antithesis?

Fundamentally, writers of all types use antithesis for its ability to create a clear contrast. This contrast can serve a number of purposes, as shown in the examples above. It can:

• Present a stark choice between two alternatives.
• Convey magnitude or range (i.e. "in brightest day, in darkest night" or "from the highest mountain, to the deepest valley").
• Express strong emotions.
• Create a relationship of opposition between two separate ideas.
• Accentuate the qualities and characteristics of one thing by placing it in opposition to another.

Whatever the case, antithesis almost always has the added benefit of making language more memorable to listeners and readers. The use of parallelism and other simple grammatical constructions like "either/or" help to establish opposition between concepts—and opposites have a way of sticking in the memory.

Other Helpful Antithesis Resources

• The Wikipedia page on Antithesis : A useful summary with associated examples, along with an extensive account of antithesis in the Gospel of Matthew.
• Sound bites from history : A list of examples of antithesis in famous political speeches from United States history — with audio clips!
• A blog post on antithesis : This quick rundown of antithesis focuses on a quote you may know from Muhammad Ali's philosophy of boxing: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

• PDFs for all 136 Lit Terms we cover
• Downloads of 1929 LitCharts Lit Guides
• Teacher Editions for every Lit Guide
• Explanations and citation info for 40,694 quotes across 1929 books
• Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play
• Climax (Figure of Speech)
• Figure of Speech
• Juxtaposition
• Parallelism
• Protagonist
• Rhetorical Question
• Round Character
• Internal Rhyme
• Slant Rhyme
• Bildungsroman
• Dramatic Irony
• Epanalepsis
• Blank Verse
• Onomatopoeia
• Alliteration
• Stream of Consciousness
• Rising Action

What is Antithesis? Definition, Examples of Antitheses in Writing

Home » The Writer’s Dictionary » What is Antithesis? Definition, Examples of Antitheses in Writing

Antithesis definition: Antithesis is a literary and rhetorical device where two seemingly contrasting ideas are expressed through parallel structure.

What is Antithesis?

What does antithesis mean? An antithesis is just that—an “anti” “thesis.” An antithesis is used in writing to express ideas that seem contradictory.

An antithesis uses parallel structure of two ideas to communicate this contradiction.

Example of Antithesis:

• “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” –Muhammad Ali

First, the structure is parallel. Each “side” of the phrase has the same number of words and the same structure. Each uses a verb followed by a simile.

Second, the contracting elements of a butterfly and a bee seem contradictory. That is, a butterfly is light and airy while a bee is sharp and stinging. One person (a boxer, in this case) should not be able to possess these two qualities—this is why this is an antithesis.

However, Ali is trying to express how a boxer must be light on his feet yet quick with his fist.

Modern Examples of Antithesis

• “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Through parallel structure, this quotation presents an antithesis. It seems contradictory that one action could be a “small step” and a “giant leap.”

However, this contradiction proposes that the action of landing on the moon might have just been a small physical step for the man Neil Armstrong, but it was a giant leap for the progress of mankind.

The Function of Antithesis

An antithesis stands out in writing. Because it uses parallel structure, an antithesis physically stands out when interspersed among other syntactical structures. Furthermore, an antithesis presents contrasting ideas that cause the reader or audience to pause and consider the meaning and purpose.

Oftentimes, the meaning of an antithesis is not overtly clear. That is, a reader or audience must evaluate the statement to navigate the meaning.

Writers utilize antitheses very sparingly. Since its purpose is to cause an audience to pause and consider the argument, it must be used with purpose and intent.

Antithesis Example from Literature

• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…”

From the beginning, Dickens presents two contradictory ideas in this antithesis.

How can it be the “best” and the “worst” of times? These two “times” should not be able to coexist.

Similarly, how can the setting of this novel also take place during an “age of wisdom” and an “age of foolishness?”

The antithesis continues.

Dickens opens his with these lines to set the tone for the rest of the novel. Clearly, there are two sides to this story, two tales of what is the truth. These two “sides” should not function peacefully. And, in fact, they do not. That, after all, is the “tale of two cities.”

Dickens sets up this disparity to set the tone for his novel, which will explore this topic.

Summary: What is an Antithesis?

Define antithesis: An antithesis consists of contrasting concepts presented in parallel structure.

Writers use antithesis to create emphasis to communicate an argument.

• Note: The plural form of antithesis is antitheses.

Store antonyms

What is the opposite word for store .

• spend collect and put aside
• lack collection
• squander collect and put aside
• use collect and put aside
• waste collect and put aside
• little collection
• debt collection, place for keeping supply
• need collection, place for keeping supply
• disperse collect and put aside
• scarcity collection
• custom-made
• tailor-made

Definition of Antithesis

Antithesis is a literary device that refers to the juxtaposition of two opposing elements through the parallel grammatical structure. The word antithesis, meaning absolute opposite, is derived from Greek for “ setting opposite,” indicating when something or someone is in direct contrast or the obverse of another thing or person.

Antithesis is an effective literary and rhetorical device , as it pairs exact opposite or contrasting ideas by utilizing the parallel grammatical structure. This helps readers and audience members define concepts through contrast and develop an understanding of something through defining its opposite. In addition, through the use of parallelism , antithesis establishes a repetitive structure that makes for rhythmic writing and lyrical speech.

For example, Alexander Pope states in  An Essay on Criticism , “ To err is human ; to forgive divine.” Pope’s use of antithesis reflects the impact of this figure of speech in writing, as it creates a clear, memorable, and lyrical effect for the reader. In addition, Pope sets human error in contrast to divine forgiveness, allowing readers to understand that it is natural for people to make mistakes, and therefore worthy for others to absolve them when they do.

Examples of Antithesis in Everyday Speech

Antithesis is often used in everyday speech as a means of conveying opposing ideas in a concise and expressive way. Since antithesis is intended to be a figure of speech, such statements are not meant to be understood in a literal manner. Here are some examples of antithesis used in everyday speech:

• Go big or go home.
• Spicy food is heaven on the tongue but hell in the tummy.
• Those who can, do; those who can’t do, teach.
• Get busy living or get busy dying.
• Speech is silver but silence is gold.
• No pain, no gain.
• It’s not a show, friends; it’s show business.
• No guts, no glory.
• A moment on the lips; a lifetime on the hips.
• If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.

Common Examples of Antithesis from Famous Speeches

Antithesis can be an effective rhetorical device in terms of calling attention to drastic differences between opposing ideas and concepts. By highlighting the contrast side-by-side with the exact same structure, the speaker is able to impact an audience in a memorable and significant way. Here are some common examples of antithesis from famous speeches:

• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character .” (Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream”)
• “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” (Abraham Lincoln “The Gettysburg Address”)
• “‘Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.'” (Edward Kennedy quoting Robert F. Kennedy during eulogy )
• “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change.” (John F. Kennedy “Presidential Inaugural Speech”)
• “You see, for any champion to succeed, he must have a team — a very incredible, special team; people that he can depend on, count on, and rely upon through everything — the highs and lows, the wins and losses, the victories and failures, and even the joys and heartaches that happen both on and off the court.” (Michael Chang “ Induction Speech for Tennis Hall of Fame”)

Examples of Proverbs Featuring Antithesis

Proverbs are simple and often traditional sayings that express insight into truths that are perceived, based on common sense or experience. These sayings are typically intended to be metaphorical and therefore rely on figures of speech such as antithesis. Proverbs that utilize antithetical parallelism feature an antithesis to bring together opposing ideas in defined contrast. Therefore, antithesis is effective as a literary device in proverbs by allowing the reader to consider one idea and then it’s opposite. It also makes for lyrical and easily remembered sayings.

Here are some examples of proverbs featuring antithesis:

• Cleanliness is next to godliness.
• Beggars can’t be choosers.
• Easy come, easy go.
• Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
• Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer.
• Like father, like son.
• Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
• An ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure.
• Be slow in choosing, but slower in changing.
• Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.
• If you can’t beat them, join them.
• Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open.
• One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
• Out of sight, out of mind.
• Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Utilizing Antithesis in Writing

As a literary device, antithesis allows authors to add contrast to their writing. This is effective in terms of comparing two contrasting ideas, such as a character’s conflicting emotions or a setting’s opposing elements. In literature, antithesis doesn’t require a pairing of exact opposites, but rather concepts that are different and distinct. In addition, since antithesis creates a lyrical quality to writing through parallel structure , the rhythm of phrasing and wording should be as similar as possible. Like most literary and rhetorical devices, overuse of antithesis will create confusion or invoke boredom in a reader as well as make the writing seem forced.

Antithesis and Parallelism

Both terms demonstrate a fundamental difference. An antithesis comprises two contradictory ideas and parallelism does not necessarily comprise opposite ideas or persons. It could have more than two ideas or persons. As the name suggests that parallelism is a condition where is an antithesis is an opposition. For example, man proposes, God disposes, has two contradictory ideas. However, it is also a parallel sentence . Furthermore, parallelism occurs mostly in structure and less in ideas. Even similar ideas could occur in parallelism, while an antithesis has only dissimilar ideas.

Antithesis and Juxtaposition

As far as juxtaposition is concerned, it means placing two ideas together that are dissimilar. They need not be opposite to each other. In the case of antithesis, they must be opposite to each other as in the case of man proposes, God disposes. Not only these two ideas are dissimilar, but also they are opposite. In the case of juxtaposition, a poet only puts two ideas together and they are not opposed to each other.

Use of Antithesis in Sentences  

• As soon he dies, he becomes a dead living.
• Most people do not understand the value of money when the poor put money ahead of them.
• Some people make money, while some waste it.
• Although they have gone leaps ahead, they have also stepped back just in the nick of time.
• The public comes forward when there is prosperity and moves back when there is adversity.

Examples of Antithesis in Literature

Antithesis is an effective literary device and figure of speech in which a writer intentionally juxtaposes two contrasting ideas or entities. Antithesis is typically achieved through parallel structure, in which opposing concepts or elements are paired in adjacent phrases , clauses , or sentences. This draws the reader’s attention to the significance or importance of the agents being contrasted, thereby adding a memorable and meaningful quality to the literary work.

Here are some examples of antithesis in well-known works of literature:

Example 1:  Hamlet (William Shakespeare)

Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice ; Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.

In Shakespeare’s well-known play , he utilizes antithesis as a literary device for Polonius to deliver fatherly advice to his son before Laertes leaves for France. In these lines, Polonius pairs contrasting ideas such as listening and speaking using parallel structure. This adds a lyrical element to the wording, in addition to having a memorable and foreboding impact on the characters and audience members with the meaning of each line.

Despite the attempt by Polonius to impart logical thinking, measured response, and wise counsel to his son through antithesis, Laertes becomes so fixated on avenging his father’s death that his actions are impulsive and imprudent. Polonius’s antithetical words are not heeded by his son, resulting in the death of several characters including Hamlet and Laertes himself.

Example 2:  Paradise Lost  (John Milton)

Here at least We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.

In Milton’s epic poem , he explores the Fall of Satan as well as the temptation and subsequent Fall of Man. This passage is spoken by Satan after he has been condemned to Hell by God for attempting to assume power and authority in Heaven. Satan is unrepentant of his actions, and wants to persuade his followers that Hell is preferable to Heaven.

Satan utilizes antithesis in the last line of this passage to encourage his rebellious followers to understand that, in Hell, they are free and rule their own destiny. In this line, Milton contrasts not just the ideas of Hell and Heaven, but also of reign and servitude as concepts applied to the angels , respectively. Pairing these opposites by using this literary device has two effects for the reader. First, Satan’s claim foreshadows his ability to use his words describing independence to tempt Eve, resulting in her and Adam’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Second, this antithesis invites the reader to consider Satan’s thought-process and experience to gain a deeper understanding of his motives in the poem.

Example 3:  Fire and Ice  (Robert Frost)

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

In his poem, Frost utilizes antithesis to contrast fire and ice as elements with devastating and catastrophic potential to end the world. Frost effectively demonstrates the equal powers for the destruction of these elements, despite showcasing them as opposing forces. In this case, the poet’s antithesis has a literal as well as figurative interpretation. As the poem indicates, the world could literally end in the fire as well as ice. However, fire and ice are contrasting symbols in the poem as well. Fire represents “desire,” most likely in the form of greed, the corruption of power, domination, and control. Conversely, ice represents “hate” in the form of prejudice, oppression, neglect, and isolation.

The presence of antithesis in the poem is effective for readers in that it evokes contrasting and powerful imagery of fire and ice as opposing yet physically destructive forces. In addition, the human characteristics associated with fire and ice, and what they represent as psychologically and socially destructive symbols, impact the reader in a powerful and memorable way as well. Antithesis elevates for the reader the understanding that the source of the end of the world may not be natural causes but rather human action or behavior; and that the end of the world may not be simply the destruction of the earth, but rather the destruction of humankind.

Example 4: The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that nation might live.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

These three examples from the address of Abraham Lincoln show the use of contradictory ideas put together in one sentence. They show how he mentions living and dead putting them side by side. This antithesis has helped Lincoln as well as America to come out of the ravages of the Civil War.

Function of Antithesis

An antithesis helps make an idea distinct and prominent when it contradicts another idea in the first part of the argument . This contrastive feature helps make readers make their argument solid, cogent, and eloquent. Sentences comprising anthesis also become easy to remember, quote, and recall when required. When an antithesis occurs in a text, it creates an argumentative atmosphere where a dialectic could take place and helps writers and speakers hook their audience easily with antithetical statements.

Synonyms of Antithesis

Antithesis has no exact synonyms but several words come closer in meanings such as opposite, reverse, converse, reversal, inverse, extreme, another side of the coin, or flip side or contrast.

Post navigation

Synonyms of antithesis

• as in opposite
• More from M-W
• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

Thesaurus Definition of antithesis

Synonyms & Similar Words

• counterpoint
• mirror image

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• counterpart
• carbon copy

Thesaurus Entries Near antithesis

antithetical

Cite this Entry

“Antithesis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antithesis. Accessed 27 May. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on antithesis

Nglish: Translation of antithesis for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of antithesis for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about antithesis

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

More commonly misspelled words, commonly misspelled words, how to use em dashes (—), en dashes (–) , and hyphens (-), absent letters that are heard anyway, how to use accents and diacritical marks, popular in wordplay, the words of the week - may 24, flower etymologies for your spring garden, 9 superb owl words, 'gaslighting,' 'woke,' 'democracy,' and other top lookups, 10 words for lesser-known games and sports, games & quizzes.

Your cart is empty

Item added to your cart

Collection: sale items.

• Black eye patch
• Sci-fi fantasy
• Stepney workers club
• The salvages
• Out of stock
• M1020 Matsuda Add to cart $600 $465
• M2055 Matsuda Add to cart $675 $438.75
• S34-PR Acronym Add to cart $545 $409
• NYLON TWILL WARM JACKET Cav Empt Add to cart $562 $393
• RIB COLLAR PUFF COAT Cav Empt Add to cart $580 $348
• Yossarian Pants #7 'Beige' Cav Empt Add to cart $316 $237
• Overdye Cotton Casual Pants 'Charcoal' Cav Empt Add to cart $277 $207.75
• YOSSARIAN PANTS #6 Cav Empt Add to cart $329 $198
• XT-Slate 'Glacier Gray / Ghost Gray / Black Salomon Add to cart $230 $160
• WARM PUFF VEST Cav Empt Add to cart $269 $134.50
• Wide Rib Crewneck #2 Cav Empt Add to cart $198 $119
• Pearl S-Strike Nubuck Mix Stepney Workers Club Add to cart $160 $112
• NG4-PS-B Acronym Add to cart $234 $110
• NG4-PS-A Acronym Add to cart $234 $110
• Pearl S-Strike Suede Mix 'Ecru / Putty' Stepney Workers Club Add to cart $130 $98
• Pearl S-Strike Raw Suede Mix Sneakers 'Black' Stepney Workers Club Add to cart $165 $98
• Pearl S-Strike Leather 'White / Black' Stepney Workers Club Add to cart $150 $98
• Pearl S-Strike Suede Sneakers 'Light Grey / White' Stepney Workers Club Add to cart $130 $98
• Pulsar Advanced Salomon Add to cart $200 $93
• Cav Shoes #2 Cav Empt Add to cart $309 $92.70

NYLON TWILL WARM JACKET

Rib collar puff coat, yossarian pants #7 'beige', overdye cotton casual pants 'charcoal', yossarian pants #6, xt-slate 'glacier gray / ghost gray / black, warm puff vest, wide rib crewneck #2, pearl s-strike nubuck mix, pearl s-strike suede mix 'ecru / putty', pearl s-strike raw suede mix sneakers 'black', pearl s-strike leather 'white / black', pearl s-strike suede sneakers 'light grey / white', pulsar advanced, cav shoes #2.

• Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.

• Bahasa Indonesia
• Slovenščina
• Science & Tech
• Russian Kitchen

10 facts about GUM, the renowned store on the Red Square (PHOTOS)

1. It was built on the site of old Trading Rows

Trading by the Moscow Kremlin flourished long before GUM appeared. Once upon a time, peddlers offered their goods on the site and then stalls began to be erected. A fire "helped" the process of establishing "trading rows" here: Under Tsar Ivan III, they were made of wood, but, under Boris Godunov, bricks were used. Gradually, the space between Ilyinka and Nikolskaya streets was built up with what came to be known as the ‘Upper Trading Rows’. And the ‘Middle’ and ‘Lower Trading Rows’ were situated between Ilyinka and Varvarka streets and Varvarka Street and the Mytny Dvor area, respectively.

The trading quarter was rebuilt several times. Under Catherine II, it was redesigned by Giacomo Quarenghi, the architect of the Hermitage Theater in St. Petersburg and the Gostiny Dvor (Old Merchant Court) in Moscow. After the War of 1812, another prominent architect - Osip Bove, who designed the Kremlin Gardens (now called the ‘Alexander Gardens’) by the Kremlin walls and the Moscow Manezh - took over their reconstruction. In the 19th century, the Trading Rows had 600 shops under their roof, nearly all of them with their own individual owners. However, when the condition of the building began to deteriorate, they failed to agree on repairs.

Shoppers who came to the Upper Trading Rows started encountering not so much bargains as threats to life and limb: A piece of plaster could fall on customers' heads, while one lady was exceptionally unlucky - the floor under her collapsed in the middle of a fitting.

In the end, the city authorities simply shut down the old building and decided to build a new one.

2.  The 19th century's largest shopping center

The Upper Trading Rows, built in Russian Style, received their first visitors in December 1893. Architect Alexander Pomerantsev designed what was then the largest shopping center in Europe: He brought 16 different buildings under one roof by linking them into three three-story shopping galleries. They housed over 1,000 stores and salons, while the shopping galleries themselves were linked by walkways and arcades. From the Red Square, it looked as if a huge brick terem-style fairytale palace had sprung up alongside it, complete with turrets, gates and a grand, formal entrance.

3.  State-of-the-art design

The Upper Trading Rows were self-sufficient: They had their own railway line to bring goods, as well as their own electricity generating plant and artesian well, bank and telegraph branches, tailoring establishments and numerous restaurants. Wholesale trade was conducted in the basement and retail trade on the floors above, while companies had their offices at the very top. It also had a public museum, in which works by European masters from the collection of perfumer Henri Brocard (Genrikh Brokar) were displayed and which was used as a venue for exhibitions and musical evenings.

4.  Unique glass roof

Unlike the earlier Trading Rows, which were not even illuminated with candlelight, because of the risk of fire, the new shop not only had electricity, but also an ultra-modern glass roof. Sixty-thousand separate panes of glass were needed for its construction: They were fitted to a steel framework and were able to cover a large span. This meant that trading during the day could take place by natural light, while, in the evening, there was a magnificent view of Moscow's night sky.

The system of arched girders is believed to have been devised by Engineer Otto Krel, director of the St. Petersburg Metal Works.

5.  First to adopt fixed prices

It wasn't just the architecture that impressed visitors to the new shopping concourse, but also its approach to the setting of prices. Trading in fixed prices was adopted there for the first time in Russia. And dissatisfied customers could leave comments in a special book - an early form of customer feedback.

6.  The name GUM was thought up by Lenin

In 1921, Vladimir Lenin proclaimed the start of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and signed a provision founding the State Department Store (Russian abbreviation: GUM). A logo with the abbreviation "GUM" was devised by artist Alexander Rodchenko while the stores’ advertising slogans were composed by poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, who exhorted: "Clutch at this lifeline - you ought to, of course! Quality, low cost and straight from the source!" In 1930, Stalin closed down the popular department store, which, subsequently, housed ministries and Lavrenty Beria's office. Trading practically disappeared: There was only a branch of ‘Torgsin’, where goods were sold strictly for hard currency.

A farewell ceremony for Nadezhda Alliluyeva, the wife of Joseph Stalin, was held in the first line (i.e. arcade) of the GUM complex (then occupied by the All-Union Central Executive Committee) after her death in 1932.

For several decades, the upper floor of the department store housed communal apartments that were often home to more than 20 families. There were neither kitchens nor toilets there - cooking had to be done on kerosene stoves and residents had to wash in public conveniences.

GUM only reopened in December 1954, offering more than 30,000 items, from children's toys to furs and rugs.

7.  The USSR's first Dior fashion shoot took place t here

A Christian Dior fashion show was held in Moscow for the first time in 1959: Yves Saint Laurent, came to the Soviet capital along with a group of models. ‘Life’ magazine organized a photo shoot at GUM: Girls in stylish costumes strolled around the galleries, posed before the main entrance and were photographed surrounded by astonished Soviet shoppers.

8.  There were a number of plans to demolish it

GUM was a step away from succumbing to a wrecking ball on a number of occasions. In the mid-1930s, there were plans to pull it down to make way for a building to house the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry. Architect Alexey Shchusev, who designed Lenin’s mausoleum, wrote that the "Red Square is too cramped and should be widened by doing away with GUM to allow public rallies and parades to pass through". In 1947, there was a proposal to erect a monument commemorating victory in the Great Patriotic War on the GUM site. There was another plan to get rid of it in the early 1970s: According to one account, Leonid Brezhnev's wife Viktoria got wind of it and complained to her husband, who immediately intervened. 

9.  The fountain is kept in operation all year round

Some GUM traditions have stayed the same for many years. For instance, people often arrange to meet by the fountain, which happens to be the only fountains in Moscow that operates all year round. It is also frequently the focal point of various festivities and celebrations. For instance, in late summer, its basin is filled with ripe watermelons, while, in 2003, a three-meter cake was place there to mark the department store’s 110th anniversary, which all visitors could sample. Another mandatory highlight of any visit to GUM is the department store’s proprietary ice-cream served in wafer cups. It has been sold on the ground floor since Soviet times.

10.  More than just a shopping center

GUM is not just a huge shopping mall, but also an entertainment complex, of sorts. It has a cinema and a contemporary art gallery called GUM-Red-Line, while, in winter, the department store opens its own ice rink and fair right on the Red Square!

Dear readers,

Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following:

• Subscribe to our   Telegram   channel
• Subscribe to our   weekly email newsletter
• Enable push notifications on our   website
• Install a VPN service on your computer and/or phone to have access to our website, even if it is blocked in your country

If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.

to our newsletter!

Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox

• What Moscow looked like at the end of the 19th century (PHOTOS)
• Did you know the top floor of Moscow’s GUM once housed a large communal apartment?
• New Year decorations on Moscow streets - Hello 2024! (PHOTOS)

This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

The Bar Was On The Floor, Nikki‪!‬ The Todd Allbaugh Show

In hour two, Todd takes dig after well-deserved dig at Nikki Haley, who now after denouncing Trump, pledges to vote for him. He and fill-in producer Sam talk about the grifter son of a pastor, and later, get back to Haley, with this week's What's Worse. Closing out the show, the discussion turns to the antithesis of Haley, Liz Cheney. The Todd Allbaugh Show is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 12 - 2 pm across Wisconsin. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook, X and YouTube to keep up with Todd and the show!

• More Episodes
• © 2022 Civic Media

Screen Rant

A controversial my hero academia twist is still consistent with the theme of the manga.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

My Hero Academia's Ending Explained Why Its Big Villain Is Actually a Hero

Even my hero academia's weakest arc, joint training, is still pretty good, the "my hero academia effect": cringe culture and its impact on anime.

• Spotting some controversy in My Hero Academia's final arc? Tomura Shigaraki's backstory reveal has fans divided on plot decisions.
• All For One's manipulation of Shigaraki's life adds depth and conflict - but is it a convenient twist or a natural progression?
• All For One embodies evil in MHA, contrasting the theme of 'anyone can be a hero' and setting up a final battle for the ages.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for My Hero Academia's final arc!! My Hero Academia is immensely popular as a series, so obviously not every story decision is going to go over well. It's an impossible task to fulfill every fan's desire, so somewhere, a fan is going to be disappointed over the direction an author takes their plot. But one reveal in the villainous Tomura Shigaraki's backstory has garnered significant conflict, and that's the fact his natural quirk is not Decay.

The quirk known as Decay is revealed to actually be a modified version of the 'Overhaul' quirk, and was actually given to Shigaraki as a child by All For One . Some readers think that this is a convenient plot device, a cheap excuse to make All For One almost solely responsible for the horrible childhood trauma that transformed Tenko Shimura into Tomura.

However, it's not inconsistent with the theme of My Hero Academia , nor should it have been that surprising of a reveal. In fact, it only stands to reinforce the theme of the manga and the ultimate goal of Deku and the other students at U.A., by making All For One even more deplorable than ever.

How All For One Manipulated Shigaraki's Life

A look into the orchestrated tragedy of the shimura family.

Back in the 'My Villain Academia' arc, Shigaraki's backstory was revealed in detail. It was there that it turned out he was actually the grandson of Nana Shimura , a previous wielder of One For All and mentor to All Might, who had abandoned her family to try and spare them from All For One's wrath. Then known as Tenko Shimura, he wished to be a great hero someday, much to the chagrin of his hero-hating father.

After being abused by his father for finding an old picture of Nana in his study (which he was told not to go into), Tenko had a breakdown and awakened his quirk, Decay . He then proceeded to accidentally kill his dog Mon and the rest of his family as his quirk spiraled out of control. Afterward, he wandered the streets in a fugue state, frightening passersby with his 'creepy' look, before being picked up by All For One.

However, Chapter #419 revealed something that drastically changed Tenko's backstory - that he had been given the Decay quirk by All For One after he had his natural quirk stripped of him as an infant. The reveal further implicates that All For One essentially groomed Shigaraki to become the perfect villain and vessel for his power , having a hand in his birth, various events in his life, and finally giving him the Decay quirk.

Some criticism has come from this revelation. Some think that it essentially removes agency from Shigaraki as a character, others that it hadn't been intended from the start, and a general distaste for All For One revealing this while hijacking Shigaraki's body for himself . All For One had seemingly met his end in Chapter #410, so his sudden return feels like a cheap way to bring back the dead villain to some. But All For One represents a key figure that clashes against the theme of the manga - that 'anyone can be a hero.'

How All For One Represents the Antithesis of My Hero Academia's Theme

The ultimate villain against the ultimate heroes.

A key theme presented from the very first chapter of MHA is that 'anyone can be a hero.' This doesn't necessarily mean anyone can put on spandex and become a superhero, but rather that a normal person can be a hero to anyone , regardless of their strength. Chapter #1 displays this best when Midoriya runs at the Sludge villain to save Bakugo, which is what inspires All Might to give One For All to the boy.

This ties into an issue repeatedly pointed out in the quirk-wielding society of MHA, that people have become too reliant on the Pro Heroes to show up and solve problems. It's specifically highlighted in Shigaraki's backstory - rather than helping a child clearly in need, people just let him be and figured that a hero would come and help him . But if someone else had helped Shigaraki back then, it's possible that All For One's plot could've been foiled before the series even began.

It is this kindness that will encourage Shigaraki to, undoubtedly, break free from All For One's control.

All For One relies on the public's reliance on heroes to thrive, utilizing the ignorance of the public to subtly shift things in his favor for decades on end in a bid to rule the world. It could have worked, if it weren't for the fact that Deku sees those problems with the world and wants to change that perception. Midoriya is an exceptionally kind soul who truly only wants to help everyone, and sees the potential for anyone to become a hero , and that includes Shigaraki. It is this kindness that will encourage Shigaraki to, undoubtedly, break free from All For One's control.

Shigaraki, or rather, Tenko, will get his moment. Everyone has the capacity to be a hero, even if they began as a villain. The destruction that he has wrought won't be forgiven, but his last moments will be something truly heroic. Thus, the twist isn't a cheap way to justify Deku's motivation to save Shigaraki despite all his crimes, but instead gives the young villain a way to take back his agency from the man who stole it from him in the first place . Tenko will then fully embody the theme of 'anyone can be a hero,' fighting alongside Deku to finish off this ultimate villain.

Ultimately, this only serves to strengthen this underlying, clear theme for My Hero Academia as it comes to its close. All For One is essentially evil incarnated, a representation of all that is bad in the world of MHA. Thus, his control over Shigaraki 's life isn't inconsistent with the theme that's set up, but rather an extension that shows why All For One is the antithesis of that theme in the first place, and why he is the perfect final antagonist for everyone in the series to face .

My Hero Academia (2016)

*Availability in US

Not available

In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the "One-For-All" quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.

• My Hero Academia

Advertisement

Supported by

6 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about.

• Share full article

By The New York Times

CRITIC’S PICK

He’s got killer charisma.

Gary (played by Glen Powell) is a reserved philosophy professor who finds himself posing as a hit man for a sting operation in this Richard Linklater comedy. While in disguise, he falls for one of his clients (Adria Arjona).

From our review:

If I see a movie more delightful than “Hit Man” this year, I’ll be surprised. It’s the kind of romp people are talking about when they say that “they don’t make them like they used to”: It’s romantic, sexy, hilarious, satisfying and a genuine star-clinching turn for Glen Powell, who’s been having a moment for about two years now. It’s got the cheeky verve of a 1940s screwball rom-com in a thoroughly contemporary (and slightly racier) package. I’ve seen it twice, and a huge grin plastered itself across my face both times.

In theaters . Read the full review.

It’s worse than Mondays.

‘the garfield movie’.

The grouchy tabby gets another big-screen adaptation, this time following an unexpected reunion with his father.

The film, directed by Mark Dindal, is an inert adaptation that mostly tries to skate by on its namesake. In other words, it’s a Garfield movie that strangely doesn’t feel as if Garfield as we know him is really there at all. Part of this can be attributed to the voice — Chris Pratt, an overly spunky casting choice that was doomed from the start — but there’s also a built-in defect to the very concept of the big-screen Garfield treatment. An animated, animal-centric children’s movie tends to require a narrative structure of action-packed adventure — the antithesis of Garfield the cat’s raison d’être.

In theaters. Read the full review .

An A.I. movie that sticks to the script.

In this sci-fi thriller, Jennifer Lopez plays Atlas, a data analyst with a distaste for artificial intelligence, who must help capture an A.I. robot that wants to destroy humanity.

Lopez, who was also a producer on the movie, flings herself into the role with abandon, the kind of performance that’s especially impressive given that she’s largely by herself throughout. … At times “Atlas” feels like pure pastiche, and it looks, in a fashion we’re getting used to seeing on the streamers, kind of cheap, dark, plasticky and fake, particularly in the big action sequences. Science fiction often earns its place in memory by envisioning something new and startling — but with “Atlas,” we’ve seen it all before.

Watch on Netflix . Read the full review .

The sorrow and the surreal.

‘kidnapped: the abduction of edgardo mortara’.

Based on a true story, this film follows a Jewish child, Edgardo Mortara, in 19th-century Italy who is kidnapped by the papal state and raised as Roman Catholic.

The director, Marco Bellocchio, anchors the period with a somber visual elegance and employs surreal gestures to tease out the psychological and spiritual aspects of the tragedy. Political cartoons lambasting Pope Pius IX come to life through animation. During an especially sorrowful moment in the boy’s confinement, one of the figures of the crucified Christ in the Roman dormitory for child converts takes leave of his cross with the help of little Edgardo.

Shantay, you stay.

In Montreal, Simon (Théodore Pellerin) pursues a career as a drag queen and contends with two thorny relationships: a destructive crush on a fellow performer and a reunion with his absentee mother.

“Solo” is a subtle snapshot into a gay man’s profound yet familiar upheavals. Simon’s drag spectacles may be intentionally fierce and operatic, but there’s something refreshing about this drama’s intimate scale and lack of interest in sweeping tragedies, especially in the context of queer cinema.

Inspirational, not necessarily insightful

A man who endured a traumatic childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution becomes a world-renowned eye surgeon in this fictionalized account of the life of Dr. Ming Wang.

As is the custom with inspirational medical movies, however, the new film “Sight,” directed by Andrew Hyatt, leans hard into uplift — it provides only the narrative-necessary minimum of the science. Wang’s achievement in developing innovative technology is central to one of the stories here, yes. But the dominating narrative is one of personal growth.

Compiled by Kellina Moore .

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Season 49 of “Saturday Night Live” has ended. Here’s a look back at its most memorable monologues, sketches, product parodies and impressions .

“Megalopolis,” the first film from the director Francis Ford Coppola in 13 years, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Here’s what to know .

Why is the “Planet of the Apes” franchise so gripping and effective? Because it doesn’t monkey around, our movie critic writes .

Luke Newton has been in the sexy Netflix hit “Bridgerton” from the start. But a new season will be his first as co-lead — or chief hunk .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

Ancient Seal: The Exorcist 12+

Neptune mutual entertainment network technology co.,limited, designed for ipad.

• Expected Jun 4, 2024
• Offers In-App Purchases
• This content may change without notice, and the final product may be different.

Screenshots

Description.

In the ancient era full of chaos, the world was not yet clear and everything was shrouded in fog. When the original fire ignited, the world began to awaken. Heat and cold, life and death, light and darkness, these opposite and unified elements, began to shape the world. The original fire brought not only life and civilization, but also the desire for power and the ambition for domination. Under the influence of desire and ambition, the ancient war between good and evil broke out. [Exquisite Picture] Unique and beautiful picture quality as same as that of PC game, gorgeous light effect rendering, advanced 3D art, and magnificent buildings coming into view, allowing players to immerse themselves in this Xianxia world. [Sky fighting] Fly with a dragon and fight with enemies in the sky to experience the ultimate excitement and freedom, and become a legendary fighter in the sky! [Massive Battle] A hundred-person melee, guild duel, and seizing the BOSS! Strategy and teamwork can determine win or lose. Only by conquering other opponents can you become a legendary hero on the battlefield and compete for glory and dominance! [Transform into a God] Players can gain the power of Gods through major tasks, transform into the Gods, obtain their exclusive skills, fight against demons, and experience extraordinary battles! [Leisure Gameplay& Home Building] In the leisure time, to build and decorate your own space. You can also invite friends to visit your home, grow vegetables and play game together.

App Privacy

The developer, NEPTUNE MUTUAL ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO.,LIMITED , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Used to Track You

The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

• Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

• App Support
• Privacy Policy

• My View My View
• Following Following
• Saved Saved

Original Davos Man unveils half a succession plan

• Medium Text

For more insights like these, click here New Tab , opens new tab to try Breakingviews for free.

Editing by Aimee Donnellan and Streisand Neto

Breakingviews Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com . All opinions expressed are those of the authors.

Breakingviews Chevron

Esr buyout showcases depths of hong kong misery.

Even by Hong Kong standards, real estate fund manager ESR is having a rough time. A potential buyout looks well-timed, but backers like Canada's OMERS Administration can push for a high premium.

site categories

‘hidden figures’ co-star glen powell worried he ruined the film, ‘ghost cat anzu’ review: innovation meets narrative struggle in animated feature – cannes film festival.

By Valerie Complex

Valerie Complex

Associate Editor/Film Writer

More Stories By Valerie

• Cannes Film Festival 2024: Read All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews, Including Palme d’Or Winner ‘Anora’
• ‘Atlas’ Review: Brad Peyton’s AI Futurism Film Falls Short Despite Jennifer Lopez’s Star Power
• Rideback Rise Sets Former Warner Bros Exec Diana Mogollón As CEO & Expands Fellowship Support For Year 2

Ghost Cat Anzu is an intriguing conceptualization for an animated film, existing in a realm similar to Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away yet also standing as its antithesis.

The story begins with Karin (voiced by Noa Goto) and her father Tetsuya (Munetaka Aoki) arriving at the Sousei-Ji temple, where her widowed grandfather resides. After a 20-year absence, Tetsuya’s sudden appearance shocks his father, but his motive becomes clear: He needs ¥1 million to repay loan sharks or face dire consequences. When his father refuses to help, Tetsuya abandons Karin at the temple, promising to return by the anniversary of her mother’s death. 

Related Stories

Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews

Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar Win For ‘The Boy And The Heron’ Is A Game-Changer For Animation And Gkids Is Ready To Reap The Rewards

Left angry and frustrated, Karin soon discovers the temple’s oddities, including Anzu (Mirai Moriyama), a bipedal ghost cat who drives a moped and works as the town masseuse. Anzu, armed with a flip phone, initially shows little interest in Karin. However, after she shares her grief over her mother’s death, they begin to bond. Together, they venture to Tokyo to find her father, only to encounter the God of Poverty, who offers Karin a chance to see her mother again by traveling through a toilet to hell. This uncanny quest only forms at the crux of the film’s third act.

From an animation perspective, Ghost Cat Anzu is remarkable as it becomes evident early on that Kuno and Yamashita utilized live-action recording and rotoscoping techniques. The team filmed the movie in live-action, with a cinematographer and sound engineers, and then meticulously redrew the sequences frame by frame. This method, rarely used in contemporary animation, captures a sense of realism. 

However, the film struggles with pacing and narrative structure. It takes nearly 55 minutes for the plot to take shape. Much of the film’s first hour is spent following Anzu around town, interacting with his forest friends, shopping, cooking and performing other mundane tasks. The film leaves many questions unanswered about him. What exactly makes Anzu a ghost cat? Why does the temple appear enchanted? Not looking to be spoon-fed information, the film provides little context for the bizarre elements it presents, which is crucial for a story as surreal as this. As a character, Anzu isn’t interesting enough to hold up Acts 1 and 2, especially with the blank expressions and monotonous voice that lacks emotion.

Karin’s character development is delayed until the latter half of the film, even though she’s far more textured than Anzu. She is a young girl full of grief and unsure of how to handle it all. Why isn’t that explored further? Also, her initial reactions to the fantastical elements around her are illogical. This might be due to the film’s live-action origins, but one would expect a young girl to be shocked by a large, talking cat walking on two feet. Instead, Karin remains completely unfazed by Anzu’s appearance and doesn’t express surprise or disbelief at any of the occurrences she encounters. Her indifference to a 6-foot-tall talking cat raises the question: Does she regularly encounter such creatures back in Tokyo?

Ghost Cat Anzu would have made an excellent 30-minute short. As a feature-length film, it struggles with pacing and coherence, leaving too many questions unanswered and failing to introduce stakes until it’s almost too late. While the animation techniques and artistic direction are impressive, they can’t fully compensate for the film’s narrative shortcomings. Sure, the film is entertaining when it finally gets going, but it’s a long wait to reach those moments of payoff. Title: Ghost Cat Anzu Festival: Cannes (Directors’ Fortnight) Directors : Yôko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita Screenwriter: Shinji Imaoka Cast: Munetaka Aoki, Noa Goto, Mirai Moriyama Distributor: Gkids Running time: 1 hr 37 min

Must Read Stories

George lucas feted; neon five in a row; analysis; gerwig; more.

Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ Scoops Top Award; Prizes For ‘Emilia Perez’ & More

‘furiosa’ up in smoke with $31m, ‘garfield’ could upset, how worried should hollywood be, loan out corporations could end, iatse tells members.

Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.

Read More About:

No comments.

Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Follow Eater Austin online:

• Follow Eater Austin on Twitter
• Follow Eater Austin on Facebook
• Follow Eater Austin on Youtube
• Follow Eater Austin on Instagram

Site search

• Los Angeles
• New Orleans
• Philadelphia
• Portland, OR
• San Francisco
• Twin Cities
• Washington DC
• Neighborhoods

Filed under:

• Restaurant News Brief

Texas Brewery Owned by ‘Supernatural’ Actors Temporarily Closes Taproom

Plus, ‘New York Times’ talks about Austin’s bromakases, and more news

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Twitter
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: Texas Brewery Owned by ‘Supernatural’ Actors Temporarily Closes Taproom

Hill Country brewery Family Business Beer Co. temporarily closed its Dripping Springs taproom while it looks for a new location in Austin proper. Its last day of public service for now at 19510 Hamilton Pool Road , was on May 8. The brewery will continue to produce beer — which is available in Austin, San Antonio and Houston now, and plans to further expand that Texas distribution through 2025.

Co-owners and couple Jensen Ackles and Dannel Ackles (yes, Jensen from popular television show Supernatural ) and co-owner/general manager Gino Graul opened the brewery in 2018 . There had been an Austin proper location in the works at the now-never-happening St. Elmo Public Market, but the brewery had pulled out because of the pandemic. And then anyway, the project collapsed . The brewery still had plans on opening a second location though.

Austin’s bromakases

The New York Times explores the idea of the bromakase — where tech bros indulge in showy high-end omakases more for the vibes than the quality of the food — and there are a lot of Austin mentions. The piece leads with Joe Rogan praising Sushi|Bar ATX , which had been run by Austin-based chef Phillip Frankland Lee, who relocated to the city from California to run his restaurant as a pop-up and then a permanent spot during the pandemic. (Since then, he broke off from Sushi|Bar and opened his own restaurants called Sushi by Scratch ; Sushi|Bar is now run by a hospitality group). It also mentions Toshokan and chef Saine Wong since he plays his guitar sometimes after meals — but also, the restaurant hosts themed omakases pegged to Taylor Swift or Disney, so it shouldn’t be considered in that category. Also as an antithesis to bromakase, the piece mentioned Austin’s newer restaurant Craft Omakase , where co-owner Charlie Wang explains their ethos as being “restraint,” when it comes to food, as well as no additional pieces at the end of meals for extra costs.

Downtown tiki cocktail bar pop-up

Downtown Austin hotel the Fairmont is running a tiki pop-up cocktail bar this summer. The Broken Coconut is taking over the hotel’s rooftop bar Rules & Reg at 101 Red River Street, serving up classic and house drinks like the Lone Star Mai Tai made with Texas whiskey, a coquito, and a take on the Old Fashioned. There are also larger cocktails served in scorpion bowls and the such. Its hours are from 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, and then from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. It started on May 18 and runs through the middle of August.

Austin beer collaboration

East Congress neighborhood brewery Vacancy Brewing and Austin coffee shop-beer garden Cosmic Coffee collaborated on a new beer this spring. The result is an Italian-style pils, the Cosmic Sans, developed by Vacancy head brewer Brent Watson and Cosmic partner Jason Stevens. It’s available at both locations of Cosmic (off South Congress Avenue and on East Fourth Street) since May 17 and then it’ll be available at Vacancy starting on Friday, May 24.

There was a kickoff party already on May 17th, but there’s a second one happening on Friday May 24 unveiling the can with pop-up Bad Larry Burger Club, drink specials, and more from 5 to 10 p.m.

Aaron Franklin’s first brisket

Texas Monthly dug back into the state’s newspaper archives to find the very first publication mention of Franklin Barbecue ’s Aaron Franklin. This happened to be in Marfa’s Big Bend Sentinel dated May 13, 2004. In a column written by Alex Manley (who had become a big Austin chef and is currently a co-partner at McGuire Moorman Lambert’s Swedish Hill ), she talks about Franklin and his wife Stacy’s backyard Cinco de Mayo party. The couple had been living with now-former Franklin Barbecue manager Benji Jacob, and they hosted the party at their East Austin home where Franklin made — yeah — brisket.

The necessary on-the-concert-road Texas stop

Rock star Lenny Kravitz discovered the magic of Buc-ee’s in late March. He posted a video of himself inside the gas station store, buying drinks and Beaver Nuggets while posing with people.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lenny Kravitz (@lennykravitz)

Texas brewery membership grant applications are open

Nonprofit trade association the Texas Craft Brewers Guild is opening its annual membership grant program for people looking to get into brewing or open their own brewery in the state. People who are accepted will get a year of free membership into the guild, gaining access to networking and sources and the such. The goal is to give out five grants this year. The deadline is May 31.

Tracking Austin food events

Zilker Spanish tapas restaurant El Raval ’s Laila Bazahm and Travis Heights hotel restaurant Cafe No Se ’s Sarah Mar-Chun are collaborating on a dinner event pegged to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month this week. The tapas meal includes dishes such as sweet potato fries served with kimchi, hot honey, and kewpie mayonnaise; deep-fried calamari with a tamarind sinigang and calamansi aioli; laksa paella, and more. There will be special cocktails such as the Sunomono with a sesame-infused sotol. It takes place on Wednesday, May 22 for dinner hours; reservations can be booked online .

Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden

Vacancy brewing, fairmont austin, sushi by scratch restaurants, craft omakase, franklin barbecue, sushi|bar atx, more from eater austin, sign up for the newsletter eater austin.

Sign up for our newsletter.

Thanks for signing up!

Check your inbox for a welcome email.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

Where to Eat and Drink During Memorial Day Weekend in Austin

A Los Angeles Steakhouse Opens in Downtown Austin Soon

Longtime Austin Wine Bar Is Closing in Zilker, but Moving to South First

Austin Co-Op Grocery Store Wheatsville Will Close on Guadalupe Eventually

Popular Mango-Focused Hong Kong Dessert Shop Comes to Austin

One of Austin’s Most Lively Omakases Is Now Open Inside a Mini-Golf Course

May 24, 2024

We Must Face Down the Expanding Anti-Reality Industry

Exposing the antiscience playbook reveals the antiregulatory motives of its deep-pocketed bankrollers

By Bryn Nelson

Thomas Jackson/Getty Images

The U.S. is bracing for another summer of powerful storms and wildfires, on the heels of an unusually warm winter and spring, and the monthly shattering of ocean heat records . Beyond the now-annual threat of smoke that last year blanketed the nation , a thickening haze of lies also looms—about everything from global warming and wildfire smoke to abortion and racism . To break through the dense fog of propaganda on media and social media , those who value scientific integrity will need to expose and rip apart the increasingly interconnected fantasies spun by the anti-reality industry.

With the presumptive Republican presidential nominee falsely calling climate change a “hoax” invented by China , a former tobacco and coal lobbyist brazenly lying to Fox News viewers that last summer’s dense wildfire smoke posed “no health risk,” and an Alabama court redefining frozen embryos as “children,” the consequences of indulging decades of antiscientific agitprop are clear. Conservative think tanks and lobbying groups have spent tens of millions to push false messaging and draft restrictive laws around abortion. The false messaging has included lies about its prevalence , basic biology and reality in women’s lives . To energize far-right voters, these groups have attacked transgender health care with the same playbook, yielding more than 400 anti-trans laws in 2024 alone. They’ve demonized vaccines and masks , minimized harms from tobacco and wildfire smoke, and denied the realities of climate change and COVID. In the classroom, where many anti-reality crusaders have long fought against the teaching of evolution , they’ve expanded to banning books about race, sexual orientation and gender identity , while attacking global warming education.

Overcoming the mounting harm from the parade of con artists gaslighting the public won’t be easy. More scientists and journalists must help clarify how right-wing ideologues have twisted science and weaponized anti-reality. Ongoing efforts, though, are already revealing the radical motives of such extremists, who share sophisticated ploys, influencers and, often, deep-pocketed funders.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing . By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Meredithe McNamara, a pediatrician at Yale School of Medicine, describes denying reality as one of the main “disinformation playbook” tactics: “The first move is, if you want to ban some sort of care or advance a toxic policy, then deny that the condition for which care is sought even exists, or make false claims about it,” she told me. Denying the existence of dangerous pregnancies or gender dysphoria , directly parallels the denial of COVID , systemic racism and air pollution .

A 2020 analysis by the climate change-focused journalism site DeSmog revealed that climate denialists share extensive overlaps with those “spreading COVID misinformation, touting false cures, ginning up conspiracy theories and fomenting attacks on public health experts.” Activists affiliated with the Heartland Institute, an oil and gas industry–funded booster of climate denialism , repeatedly attacked COVID public health measures. Some have woven those threads into a wild conspiracy theory about a plot by “eco-radicals” to restrict personal freedoms. Conservative scholars at the even more influential Heritage Foundation, also funded by oil and gas magnates, have misleadingly portrayed COVID and climate models as highly sensitive to “assumptions,” and suggested that climate model advocates “often try to beef them up to satisfy an agenda .”

With a key assist from dark-money gas industry groups that have refused to reveal their donors, affiliated foundations, and lobbyists , some global warming disinformation has taken the form of outright gaslighting. Ohio and Tennessee , for instance, have passed laws that redefine methane—one of the most potent greenhouse gases —as “clean energy.” In Tennessee, the new law requires public utilities to treat natural gas, primarily made up of methane, as a “permissible source” of clean energy, despite study after study warning that soaring levels of methane in Earth’s atmosphere are contributing greatly to global warming .

A recent Society of Environmental Journalists workshop on combating climate and science disinformation detailed how largely meaningless terms like “certified” natural gas , redefinitions of existing terms (like expanding what can be called “clean energy” ), and ads disguised as editorials have all been designed to deceive and mislead . The idea that we’re each entitled to our own facts benefits bad actors polluting the public discourse, said University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann, who spoke at the workshop. It’s not that there’s a deficit of information, he said; rather, there’s a surplus of disinformation .

The financial motivation for oil- and gas-funded climate deniers may seem clear. Their assaults on ever-widening swaths of scientific evidence, though, suggest a more dangerous alignment with far-right goals. Gutting government oversight except in defense of the traditional nuclear family is a strategy spelled out explicitly in documents like the Heritage Foundation–led Project 2025 ’s Mandate for Leadership, a guidebook to the goals of a second Trump administration. It would slash multiple agencies , ranging from NOAA to the Department of Education, and sharply reverse decades of U.S. climate policy.

Francesca Tripodi, a senior researcher at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina, says one goal of repeating the myths and disinformation is to activate “deep stories” that are told so often that they feel true. Science has long been distorted to push the racist narrative that Black people are inferior , for example, thereby justifying their enslavement and subjugation while perpetuating the myth of white supremacy. More recently, that narrative has extended to vilifying the Black Lives Matter movement and diversity, equity and inclusion programs as being themselves discriminatory .

Far-right activist Christopher Rufo, who once worked for the anti-evolution Discovery Institute , has repeatedly trotted out the disingenuous narrative that educators should teach diverse viewpoints in the supposed interest “ of reasoning toward truth ,” while recommending a newsletter that promotes scientific racism and eugenics. Simultaneously, he has led a crusade against academic fields and ideas he opposes , like gender studies and critical race theory , and incited a cynical moral panic by reinforcing a “deep story” that portrays drag queens and transgender individuals as sexual predators .

Fox News has aided the effort by helping to resurrect and amplify the long-debunked homophobic slur that LGBTQ+ people are pedophilic “groomers.” The stubborn lie has now become a one-word mantra providing cover for anti-trans and antigay laws. Some far-right activists have even begun pairing the “groomer” slur with words like “contagion” or “social contagion.” Many of the same peddlers of disinformation, like Fox’s Laura Ingraham and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia, repeatedly minimized the actual contagion of COVID—remorseless dishonesty that arguably contributed to hundreds of thousands of excess deaths among Republicans in the pandemic.

In her book The Propagandists’ Playbook: How Conservative Elites Manipulate Search and Threaten Democracy , Tripodi describes how propagandists further sway the public through an “IKEA effect” whereby false information can be self-assembled from separate parts. Savvy pundits and politicians appropriate or create keywords and phrases—like “woke-ism” and “groomer”—that they tie to false narratives. By widely disseminating the keywords, the storytellers can embed them in search engine results. Researchers have found that the top results for “abortion pill” commonly spread misinformation and disinformation . In other cases, fossil fuel companies have spent heavily on Google ads that resemble search results .

Someone urged to “search for it yourself” is more likely to find a top result that conveniently reconfirms the desired narrative. Tripodi said the DIY “discovery” increases the value of the information seeking—like a chair you assembled on your own—and reinforces the story’s ring of truth.

About six months after the first COVID vaccination, anti-vax propagandists including then Fox News personality Tucker Carlson seized upon the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) for another burst of DIY disinformation. This early warning system allows anyone to report a death or potential vaccine side effect, making it unvetted crowd-sourced data. Carlson mischaracterized VAERS’s unverified initial reports as evidence of deadly vaccine harms. In reality, a subsequent evaluation actually found a lower risk of non-COVID-related death among vaccine recipients.

“It’s not just antiscience, because many of these groups are backing their claims with what seems to be scientific inquiry,” Tripodi told me. Her colleague Daniel Kreiss, principal researcher at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life, called it “performance of science in an effort to claim legitimacy” in a separate interview. The performance artists aren’t particularly concerned with adhering to scientific principles in their own work. Instead, they are weaponizing the process of academic peer review to raise doubt and delegitimize perceived opponents.

Anti-reality activists are also weaponizing a principle of journalism—to tell both sides of a story —to advance their message. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the largest professional association of pediatricians in the U.S., has joined every major medical association in supporting the use of gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents. The similarly named American College of Pediatricians, in reality a far-right think tank for antigay, antitransgender and antiabortion activists that the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled a hate group , has masqueraded as a reputable peer of the academy and demanded that its evidence-free claims be taken seriously by journalists in the name of “balance.” Likewise, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine , another strategically named front group, has joined the anti-trans crusade while leading the effort to ban the abortion pill mifepristone in a Supreme Court case by questioning more than 100 studies affirming the pill’s safety . Far too many press accounts, though, have enabled deception by amplifying false assertions , engaging in performative “objectivity” and platforming extreme ideologues as good-faith experts.

If manufacturing doubt about well-established science sounds familiar, that’s because it was honed for decades by the scientists and lobbyists employed by tobacco and fossil fuel companies and memorably described in Merchants of Doubt by historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway.

Understanding the tactics used to spread disinformation could help disrupt the storyline, Tripodi told me. Unmasking the motives of snake oil sellers also might reduce some of their clout. Simply fighting their lies with data, however, may be a losing proposition , especially when they insist that they too deal with facts, not feelings, while doing the precise opposite.

Kreiss said elevating the voices of conservatives who support the science of global warming or gender-affirming care may be another way to scramble politicized narratives with a memorable counter-frame. Emphasizing the public health crisis that can result from bans on evidence-based care, such as endangering women and increasing the risk of suicide among transgender youth, also might provide an effective rebuttal. In particular, Kreiss says, getting people to talk publicly about what they or loved ones lost after being conned by false narratives can help drive home the very real and often very personal costs of all the lies.

To help clear more space for honest science-based conversations, we must find the courage to call out the peddlers of anti-reality, challenge the merchants of doubt and cut through the haze of polluted public discourse.

This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.