mindmap root((反对)) oppose can apply to a range from mere objection to bitter hostility or active warfare: ~d the plan to build a nuclear power plant. combat stresses the forceful or urgent nature of actively countering something: ~ the disease by educating the public. resist implies an overt recognition of a hostile or threatening force and a positive effort to counteract, fend off, or repel it: struggled valiantly to ~ the temptation. withstand suggests a more passive, yet often successful, resistance: unable to ~ peer pressure. antagonize implies an arousing of resistance or hostility in another: statements that ~d even his own supporters.