as in opposite
something that is as different as possible from something else
the new administration had promised peace and prosperity, but what we got was the obverse: war and recession
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in reverse
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obverse
David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
According to one estimate, 96 percent of the world’s population speaks just four percent of all languages, which means that the striking obverse is also true: just four percent of the world’s population speaks 96 percent of all languages.
—Ross Perlin, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Davey Winder, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The obverse side will still feature the portrait of former President George Washington by Laura Gardin Fraser.
—Jordan D. Brown, Baltimore Sun, 3 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for obverse
Noun
Kraft noted that the coin's obverse was identical to the 1806 British coinage, while the reverse was unique to the Bahamas.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
According to one estimate, 96 percent of the world’s population speaks just four percent of all languages, which means that the striking obverse is also true: just four percent of the world’s population speaks 96 percent of all languages.
—Ross Perlin, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Adjective
The obverse side of the communications coin is that without TLS encryption, that information is there for anyone to sniff out.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The obverse side will still feature the portrait of former President George Washington by Laura Gardin Fraser.
—Jordan D. Brown, Baltimore Sun, 3 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for obverse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obverse
Noun
-
Here opposites — classy and brassy — are distractions, with odd-couple joking substituting for something more substantial.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Mahle’s opposite on the mound Wednesday was four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, who pitched six shutout innings with seven strikeouts while generating 18 whiffs.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In 1935, the league’s founders met at the Fort Pitt Hotel and voted unanimously to put in place a selection process in reverse order of the previous season’s standings.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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The King of the Mountain match was essentially a reverse ladder match that included a penalty box for those who were pinned – which is also featured in the Iron Survivor Challenge that takes place during WWE NXT events.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In the lottery, the first four positions are determined by the weighted drawing, with the remainder of the selections then reverting to inverse order of record.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Every other pick is based on inverse order of records.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obverse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obverse. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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