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WordHippo
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What is the opposite of zero?
Antonyms for zero include anything, being, something, thing, everything, acme, apex, climax, crown and culmination. Find more opposite words at wordhippo.com!
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Reddit
reddit.com โ€บ r/askphilosophy โ€บ is there an opposite to zero or is it inherently without opposite?
r/askphilosophy on Reddit: Is there an opposite to zero or is it inherently without opposite?
December 14, 2013 -

My girlfriend and I have discussed this a few times and can't quite decide if there is or not - we are definitely not philosophers.

Initially, we agree that zero is similar nothing and the opposite of nothing is everything. Therefore, infinity is the opposite of zero. But, looking at it numerically, you have negative (or a lack of) values. You could also say that a circumstantial "lack of" anything can be treated at a negative value.

But does this then mean that you could potentially say the opposite of infinity is actually negative infinity? Does this approach not put zero as the only non-value therefore meaning that it isn't even comparable?

At this point it gets a little deep for us, but our only other conclusion is that the opposite of 0 is actually 0. If this is the case, then is this the only example of this?

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If by "opposite" you mean "additive inverse" (as -1 is to 1, -2 is to 2, etc.), then 0 is its own opposite.

Initially, we agree that zero is similar nothing and the opposite of nothing is everything. Therefore, infinity is the opposite of zero.

I don't think there's any obvious sense in which infinity corresponds to "everything". There are infinite sets that don't contain everything, for example.

But does this then mean that you could potentially say the opposite of infinity is actually negative infinity?

You could say this is true about the surreal numbers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surreal_number

At this point it gets a little deep for us, but our only other conclusion is that the opposite of 0 is actually 0. If this is the case, then is this the only example of this?

As I said above, if by "opposite" you specifically mean "additive inverse", then 0 is its own opposite, and it's the only real number that has this property.

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I'd say "opposite" without further qualification or context is not really a well defined operation. Generally, by "opposite", I think we generally mean something like "reachable by reflecting on an axis of symmetry". But things frequently have multiple symmetries, meaning multiple potential opposites. Eg. we may consider the opposite of 2 to be -2 - if we reflect it through the origin, we get that value. But we might also consider the opposite to be 1/2 - it's multiplicative, rather than additive inverse. These symmetries may be context dependent - we could have different "origin points" that we're reflecting between. Eg. we might view "blue" to be the opposite of "red" if we pick the midpoint of human visible colours as our "point of reflection". But a scientist not attaching any special significance to visible light wouldn't see any reason to view wavelengths of 450nm to be the opposite of wavelengths of 620 nm? But we might also have other, culturally influenced reflection points (eg. "blue" may again be considered the opposite of "red" when viewed through the lens of "colours symbolising particular political viewpoints"). All in all, to speak of "the opposite" of something is to commit an error, in preassuming there could only be one such thing. That may be the case when you have a particular symmetry in mind, but you need to realise that this is what you're doing, and to discard that context is to change the question.

Ie opposites are properties of not just a thing on its own, but of that thing, a type of symmetry, and an axis of symmetry. Change any of those things, and you get different opposites.

In your case, you're looking at 0 using a particular "point of reflection" and symmetry in mind, but in that particular symmetry your point of reflection itself is the same as the point you're "reflecting", meaning 0 would indeed be its own opposite along that same additive symmetry. You can of course bring up different symmetries - but all those symmetries give rise to different "opposites" all the time - they're not just fallbacks for when one symmetry doesn't give you a good answer, making the other one the "real" opposite.

(And as an aside, in IEEE floating point maths, there are actually distinct 0 and -0 values, so in that context, the (additive) opposite of 0 would indeed be -0).

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Toppr
toppr.com โ€บ standard vi โ€บ maths โ€บ introduction to integers
State true or false:The opposite of zero is zero.
September 5, 2022 - Click here๐Ÿ‘†to get an answer to your question โœ๏ธ the opposite of zero is zero
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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com โ€บ thesaurus โ€บ zero
ZERO Synonyms: 103 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
Synonyms for ZERO: nothing, nil, zip, naught, aught, oh, o, zilch; Antonyms of ZERO: figure, somebody, lead, eminence, big wheel, head, kingpin, leader
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Brainly
brainly.com โ€บ mathematics โ€บ middle school โ€บ will the opposite of zero be always, sometimes, or never zero?
[FREE] Will the opposite of zero be always, sometimes, or never zero? - brainly.com
Zero is neutral. Its neither positive nor negative. Because its right in between being positive and negative. For example: On the number line, as you can see, the opposite of a positive number such as 1 is directly the opposite of -1.
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CK-12 Foundation
ck12.org โ€บ all subjects โ€บ math grade 6 โ€บ symmetry on the number line โ€บ does zero have an opposite number?
Flexi answers - Does zero have an opposite number? | CK-12 Foundation
September 11, 2025 - The opposite of a number is the same distance from 0 on a number line as the original number but on the other side of 0.Zero is its own opposite because it is neither negative nor positive. Therefore, the opposite of 0 is 0.
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Embibe
embibe.com โ€บ concise mathematics middle school class 6 โ€บ chapter 7 - number line โ€บ exercise โ€บ q 2
The opposite of zero is zero
February 11, 2019 - Given The opposite of zero is zero We have to find the given statement is true or false On a number line the positive numbers are to the right of zero and the negative numbers are to the left of zero When considering negativity or positivity of zero zero is neutral It has no signs Zero is neither ...
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Math Answers
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What is the opposite of zero? - Answers
Zero has no multiplicative opposite (or inverse). However, it has an additive inverse, and that is also zero, since 0 + 0 = 0 The opposite value of a null set would be an infinite set, but infinity is not a real number.
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Quora
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What is the opposite of zero (0)? - Quora
Answer (1 of 12): This is a good time to show how mathematics works by taking some intuitive but vague concept, and making it precise by clever definitions. What should we mean by opposite? Well, a reasonable thing to mean is that when we perform some operation \vee (call it whatever you want, b...
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Brainly
brainly.com โ€บ mathematics โ€บ high school โ€บ which statement is true? a. zero is the opposite of zero. b. all positive numbers are opposites of zero. c. all negative numbers are opposites of zero. d. zero has no opposite.
[FREE] Which statement is true? A. Zero is the opposite of zero. B. All positive numbers are opposites of - brainly.com
For example, the opposite of 5 is -5 because 5 + (-5) = 0. In that logic, the statement 'Zero is the opposite of zero' is true since 0 + 0 equals 0. However, the statements 'All positive numbers are opposites of zero' and 'All negative numbers ...
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YouTube
youtube.com โ€บ watch
Why is Zero Its Own Opposite? Understanding Zero on the Number Line - YouTube
In this video, we explore why zero is considered its own opposite on the number line. Understanding this unique property of zero is key for mastering concept...
Published ย  October 16, 2024
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Quora
quora.com โ€บ Why-is-the-opposite-of-zero-in-mathematics-zero
Why is the opposite of zero in mathematics zero? - Quora
Unless you are a bot your surname would lead me to suspect your home language is English. If I am mistaken then please forgive me for what i am about to say: Sloppy language habits lead to sloppy thinking habits. THERE IS NO OPPOSITE TO A NUMBER. ...
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Math.net
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Opposite of a number
They have the same value, but in opposite directions. This is true for all positive numbers; the opposite of a positive number is its negative value. The same is also true for negative numbers; the opposite of a negative number is its positive value. The opposite of zero is itself.
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CK-12 Foundation
ck12.org โ€บ all subjects โ€บ cbse math โ€บ overview of integers โ€บ what is a number and its opposite?
Flexi answers - What is a number and its opposite? | CK-12 Foundation
September 11, 2025 - The opposite of a number is the same distance from 0 on a number line as the original number but on the other side of 0.Zero is its own opposite because it is neither negative nor positive. Therefore, the opposite of 0 is 0.