juxtapose
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- juxtaposition noun
- juxtapositional adjective
Etymology
Origin of juxtapose
First recorded in 1850–55; back formation from juxtaposition
Explanation
See the word "pose" in juxtapose? When you juxtapose, you are "posing" or positioning things side by side. The verb juxtapose requires contrasting things placed next to one other: "The collage juxtaposed pictures of Jane while she was growing up and as an adult." Juxtapose is used often when referring to contrasting elements in the arts. "The music juxtaposed the instrumentation of jazz with the harmonies of soul."
Vocabulary lists containing juxtapose
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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This Week In Culture: March 29–April 4, 2020
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Stand in "Solidarity": 30 Words to Remind us English is at Least 30 Percent French
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The effect of the metanarrative is to juxtapose Byron’s violent passions with the careful, repressed behavior of one who hoped to capture him in literature.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
“How would we juxtapose that with an inner monologue that is more expressive?” he says.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025
Cyrus' raspy vocals juxtapose against Beyoncé's soulful and piercing falsetto.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2024
“You can start to juxtapose things that weren’t necessarily related but were aligned in time and in intention.”
From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2023
If we could only juxtapose one eyeball of this sanctified woman and a television tube, both being roughly of the same shape and design, what a phantasmagoria of exploding electrodes would occur.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
