variants
or diametrical
as in contradictory
being as different as possible
that husband and wife have seemingly diametric personalities, but somehow their marriage works
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of diametric
Prince gave his first comment on the two dynamo’s diametric philosophies during conversations with New Yorker contributor Dan Piepenbring, co-writer of the artist’s unfinished, posthumous 2019 No. 1 New York Times best-selling memoir The Beautiful Ones.
—
Keith Murphy,
VIBE.com,
7 June 2026
Tonight’s penultimate episode of season two feels like an anti-climax — not just a letdown generally, but the diametric opposite of a climax.
—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
11 Jan. 2026
There is a war coming, and Iger’s and del Toro’s diametric comments only begin to hint at it.
—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Jan. 2026
Springsteen and Landau — played with precision and intensity by Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, respectively — went all in for the production and promotion of a film that’s the diametric opposition of jukebox musicals like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman.
—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
11 Dec. 2025
But the less obvious stimuli for weeping can also be seen as the diametrical opposites of the things that make a joke funny.
—
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
Its diametrical opposite might be the epigraph, the upfront citation, not relegated to footnote or endnote and often in italics — a phenomenon no one could fail to observe.
—
Elisa Gabbert,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2025
Since the advent of the Patrick Mahomes Era, the Chiefs are 15-3 in the postseason — a diametric contrast for a franchise that had won just one of its previous 12 playoff games and tormented its fan base into what might be called rational paranoia.
—
Vahe Gregorian,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2025
Since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race, American voters now face an unusual choice between two candidates who are almost diametric opposites – people who are different in nearly every way.
—
George Petras,
USA TODAY,
25 July 2024
Keith Murphy,
VIBE.com,
7 June 2026
Tonight’s penultimate episode of season two feels like an anti-climax — not just a letdown generally, but the diametric opposite of a climax.
—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
11 Jan. 2026
There is a war coming, and Iger’s and del Toro’s diametric comments only begin to hint at it.
—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Jan. 2026
Springsteen and Landau — played with precision and intensity by Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, respectively — went all in for the production and promotion of a film that’s the diametric opposition of jukebox musicals like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman.
—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
11 Dec. 2025
But the less obvious stimuli for weeping can also be seen as the diametrical opposites of the things that make a joke funny.
—
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
Its diametrical opposite might be the epigraph, the upfront citation, not relegated to footnote or endnote and often in italics — a phenomenon no one could fail to observe.
—
Elisa Gabbert,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2025
Since the advent of the Patrick Mahomes Era, the Chiefs are 15-3 in the postseason — a diametric contrast for a franchise that had won just one of its previous 12 playoff games and tormented its fan base into what might be called rational paranoia.
—
Vahe Gregorian,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2025
Since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 race, American voters now face an unusual choice between two candidates who are almost diametric opposites – people who are different in nearly every way.
—
George Petras,
USA TODAY,
25 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for diametric
Adjective
-
Inspectors from the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog will visit nuclear sites in Iran, its chief has said, after contradictory remarks from the US and Iran on whether those sites would be inspected as part of their agreement to end the war.
-
Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio at the time defended the decision, claiming the ICC had issued a contradictory and flawed arrest warrant.
Adjective
-
Nearby, Rosemary LaPlanche, the 1941 Miss America winner, is poised on the opposite side of the couch from the two senators.
-
There was another car on the opposite side of the road with major front-end damage.
Adjective
-
The voter response to Measure A should send a strong contrary message.
-
Still, this is a contrary call.
Cite this Entry
“Diametric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diametric. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
