taking advantage; expediency, striking while the iron is hot, SI. getting while the getting is good, making hay while the sun shines. opportunity, n. favorable time, good moment, perfect occasion, right season, right set of circumstances; chance, contingency, possibility; opening, golden opportunity, once-in-a-lifetime chance, Inf. shot, SI. break, stroke of luck, turn or turn of events, SI. twist of fate. oppose, v. 1. confront, face, encounter; resist, defy, withstand, repulse, repel, Archaic, reluct, recalcitrate; counteract, contravene, neutralize, cancel, militate against, countervail.
2. attack, assault, assail, collide with, clash with, combat, contest, strive against, contend with or against, cope with, struggle with or against, antagonize; battle, joust, tilt, enter the lists, tourney, cross swords; box, spar, wrestle, fence, duel, thrust and parry, come to blows, bandy blows; skirmish, jostle, scuffle, grapple or close with; fight, war on, make war, march against.
3. hinder, obstruct, impede, block, check, curb, restrain, restrict, inhibit, interfere, barricade, debar; thwart, foil, frustrate, cross, traverse, Scot. thraw; prevent, forbid, prohibit, proscribe, veto, interdict, embargo, blockade, bar, preclude.
4. contradict, dispute, refute, controvert, repugn, oppugn; protest, take issue with, take exception to, take a stand against; side against, join issue.
5. compare, contrast, offset, balance, counterbalance, set against, pit against; equate with, parallel, match, correspond; set off, foil. opposing, adj. 1. contradictory, countering, conflicting, adverse, contrary, opponent, antipathetical, oppositional, oppugnant; jarring, clashing, incompatible, discordant, discrepant, dissident, antagonistic.
2. combating, fighting, militant, battling, dueling, contending, enemy, factious, contentious, dissentious, disputatious; bickering, quarreling, feuding, broiling, wrangling, disputing, disagreeing, unfriendly. opposite, adj. 1. face to face, facing, vis-^-vis, eyeball-to-eyeball, Dial, foment.
2. contrary, reverse, contrasting, opposing, contradictory, counter, antagonistic, conflicting, oppugnant; opposed, diametricaly opposed, antithetical, antipodal, antonymous; oppositional, Logic, con-trapositive. -n. 3. reverse, contrary, inverse, converse, Inf. the other side of the coin; opposite number, counterpart, vis-^-vis; pole, antipode, antithesis; antonym. -prep. 4. across from, facing; parallel to, complementary to, as partner to, with. opposition, n. 1. resistance, counteraction, contravention, flak, Inf. a hard time; impediment, hindrance, obstruction, debarment, preclusion, barricade, blockade, frustration, inhibition, prohibition.
2. disagreement, confrontation, conflict, combat, contrariety, contradiction, antagonism, hostility, defiance, oppugnancy, Fig. oppugnation; contraposition, antithesis, contrast.
3. opponent, adversary, rival, competitor, opposer; antagonist, enemy, foe, oppugner, Rare, oppugnant; Brit. Pari, oppositionist. oppress, v. 1. burden, trouble, encumber, cumber, charge, weigh; strain, break, grind, press; handicap, hamper, tax; work, drive, overwork, overdrive, fag, task; exhaust, wear, wear down, weary; overload, overcharge, load, surcharge, overwhelm.
2. tyrannize, despotize, repress, overbear, overmaster; persecute, harry, harass, hound, beset; compel, coerce, subjugate, rule with an iron hand, weigh down, press down, put down, saddle, bridle; suppress, smother, keep down, Inf. clamp down, stamp down, ride roughshod over.