juxtaposition

noun

jux·​ta·​po·​si·​tion ˌjək-stə-pə-ˈzi-shən 

: the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect

an unusual juxtaposition of colors

The juxtaposition of Holly's career with the content of her podcast might leave audience members scratching their heads.

—Nick Kasmik

also : the state of being so placed

contrasting shapes placed in juxtaposition to each other

A five-minute ferry ride from Brooklyn and Manhattan, [Governor's Island] feels distant yet impossibly close, and the juxtaposition of vertical city and languorous landscape is almost surreal.

—Justin Davidson

juxtapositional

ˌjək-stə-pə-ˈzi-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Examples of juxtaposition in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Both Heder and Madeley were intrigued by the juxtaposition of Heumann’s desire for movement with her paralysis forcing her to be still. — Kristen Lopez, IndieWire, 2 Nov. 2026

The juxtaposition of Prikryl’s family with Cordelia’s reveals the overlap of tragedy, fairy tale, and soap opera. — Langdon Hammer, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026

In junkspace, Koolhaas argues, formal strategies associated with modern art and design—abstraction, functionalism, fragmentation, radical juxtaposition—are hastily and unceremoniously redeployed in the ordinary language of commerce. — Alec Mapes-Frances, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026

How much did that juxtaposition inform the game’s tone and identity? — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin juxta near + English position — more at joust

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for juxtaposition

• academician
• cycloaddition
• decomposition
• diagnostician
• disinhibition
• indisposition
• interposition
• mathematician
• metacognition
• metaphysician
• neurotransmission
• nonrecognition

Medical Definition

juxtaposition

noun

jux·​ta·​po·​si·​tion ˌjək-stə-pə-ˈzish-ən 

: the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side

also : the state of being so placed

juxtapose

ˈjək-stə-ˌpōz 

transitive verb

juxtaposed; juxtaposing