Juxtapose

 WORD OF THE DAY

juxtapose / verb / JUK-stuh-pohz

Definition
: to place (different things) side by side (as to compare them or contrast them or to create an interesting effect)

Examples
"There's the original wooden floorboards juxtaposing ... a glossy, stop-and-stare, curved timber wall that extends from behind the counter to the ceiling above."
— Anooska Tucker-Evans, The Courier Mail (Australia), 19 Mar. 2022

Black and gold accents juxtapose the pink to create a polished, feminine look.
— Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Mar. 2022

Did You Know?
A back-formation is a word that has come about through the removal of a prefix or a suffix from a longer word.
Etymologists think juxtapose is a back-formation that was created when people trimmed down the noun juxtaposition.
Historical evidence supports the idea: juxtaposition was showing up in English documents as early as 1654, but juxtapose didn't appear until 1851.
Juxtaposition is itself thought to be a combination of Latin juxta, meaning "near," and English position.