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What is the opposite of opposite answer?
When is 'contrary' a more appropriate choice than 'opposite'?
The meanings of contrary and opposite largely overlap; however, contrary implies extreme divergence or diametrical opposition.
// contrary assessments of the war situation
How does the adjective 'opposite' differ from other similar words?
Some common synonyms of opposite are antithetical, contradictory, and contrary. While all these words mean "being so far apart as to be or seem irreconcilable," opposite applies to things in sharp contrast or in conflict.
// opposite views on foreign aid
Not in the way you are using it.
"Small is the opposite of big" is saying that the two words mean opposing things. This is okay, because "of" indicates a difference in essence.
"Small is opposite to big", however, indicates an opposition in physical position. It suggests that "X" is in the opposite position compared to "Y". The "to" in this phrase indicates a physical opposition, where the words "small" and "big" do not have physical entities to represent them, and it would only make sense if you were putting the words physically in a list, and saying they were opposite to each other on that list.
If you mean that small is the antonym of big, then (1) is the normal construction. Opposite to is sometimes used for things that face each other, but to is often omitted.
Negation (noun) is the process of making something negative (or reverse).
Negate (verb)
When you want to express the opposite meaning of a particular word or sentence, you can do it by inserting a negation (negating it). Negations are words like no, not, never etc.
Example: I will eat a pizza -> negation -> I will not eat a pizza.
It's the negation of sentences...
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Similarly, we negate words by adding affixes (prefix or suffix) to them.
The common prefixes of negation are ir, un, anti, il, im, dis etc.
Examples: responsible -> irresponsible, comfortable -> uncomfortable, clockwise -> anti-clockwise, legal -> illegal, possible -> impossible, ability -> disability etc.
The common suffix that negate words is less.
Examples: hopeless, restless, homeless etc.
Here's a full explanation of negation.
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There does not appear to be a single word for this, but there is a phrase for it:
- Negative Prefix
I cannot find a great (primary) reference for it, but a google on that will give lots of non primary source hits that match what you're looking for.
The best I can find is this:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-language-and-linguistics/article/analogical-modeling-and-morphological-change-the-case-of-the-adjectival-negative-prefix-in-english/AB0A5610038982A5BF0B6343EEC9C94E
"AM is then tested on the case of the adjectival negative prefix in English (in-, un-, dis-, etc.), "
(emphasis is mine)