Adjacent Words

Obverse definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OBVERSE, a. obvers'. In botany, having the base narrower than the top; as a leaf.
OB'VERSE, n. The face of a coin; opposed to reverse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the more conspicuous of two alternatives or cases or sides; "the obverse of this issue"
2: the side of a coin or medal bearing the principal stamp or design [ant: reverse, verso]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Latin obversus, from past participle of obvertere to turn toward, from ob- toward + vertere to turn — more at ob-, worth Date: circa 1656 1. facing the observer or opponent 2. having the base narrower than the top <an obverse leaf> 3. constituting the obverse of something ; opposite • obversely adverb II. noun Date: 1658 1. the side of a coin or currency note bearing the chief device and lettering; broadly a front or principal surface 2. a counterpart having the opposite orientation or force <their rise was merely the obverse of the Empire's fall — A. J. Toynbee>; also opposite 1 <joy and its obverse, sorrow> 3. a proposition inferred immediately from another by denying the opposite of what the given proposition affirms <the obverse of “all A is B” is “no A is not B” >

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a the side of a coin or medal etc. bearing the head or principal design. b this design (cf. REVERSE). 2 the front or proper or top side of a thing. 3 the counterpart of a fact or truth. --adj. 1 Biol. narrower at the base or point of attachment than at the apex or top (see OB- 7). 2 answering as the counterpart to something else. Derivatives: obversely adv. Etymology: L obversus past part. (as OBVERT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Obverse Ob*verse", a. [L. obversus, p. p. of obvertere. See Obvert.] Having the base, or end next the attachment, narrower than the top, as a leaf.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Obverse Ob"verse, n. [Cf.F. obverse, obvers. See Obverse, a.] 1. The face of a coin which has the principal image or inscription upon it; -- the other side being the reverse. 2. Anything necessarily involved in, or answering to, another; the more apparent or conspicuous of two possible sides, or of two corresponding things. The fact that it [a belief] invariably exists being the obverse of the fact that there is no alternative belief. --H. Spencer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

The obverse of an opinion, situation, or argument is its opposite. (FORMAL) The obverse of rising unemployment is continued gains in productivity. N-SING: the N, oft N of n

Moby Thesaurus

adversative, adverse, adversive, ally, alter ego, analogon, analogue, antagonistic, anteriority, anti, antipathetic, antipodal, antipode, antipodes, antipole, antithesis, antithetic, antonym, antonymous, associate, at cross-purposes, balancing, bold front, brave face, brave front, brother, clashing, close copy, close match, cognate, companion, compensating, complement, conflicting, confronting, congenator, congener, contra, contradictory, contradistinct, contrapositive, contrarious, contrary, contrasted, converse, coordinate, correlate, correlative, correspondent, counter, counterbalance, counterbalancing, countercheck, counterpart, counterpoint, counterpoise, counterpoised, counterpole, counterterm, countervailing, dead against, discordant, discrepant, display, equivalent, eyeball to eyeball, eyeball-to-eyeball, facade, face, facet, facia, facing, fellow, foil, fore, forefront, foreground, forehand, foreland, forepart, forequarter, foreside, foreword, front, front elevation, front man, front matter, front page, front view, frontage, frontal, frontier, frontispiece, head, heading, heads, hostile, image, inconsistent, inimical, inverse, kindred spirit, lap, like, likeness, mate, near duplicate, offset, opposed, opposing, opposite, opposite number, opposite side, oppositional, oppositive, oppugnant, other face, other side, parallel, pendant, perverse, picture, polar, polaric, polarized, preface, prefix, priority, proscenium, reciprocal, repugnant, reverse, second self, setoff, similitude, simulacrum, sister, soul mate, squared off, such, suchlike, tails, tally, the contrary, the like of, the likes of, the other side, twin, vis-a-vis, window dressing