Phrase guide

poles apart

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Totally opposite.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Examples

  • 2009, November 29, Times of India, "Two cities, two lives" Two city living however has its own flipside, not the least the difficulty straddling the two different cultures of two cities that are poles apart.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: worlds apart

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 完全相反 (wánquán xiāngfǎn) — totally opposite
  • Chinese Mandarin: 天壤之別 /天壤之别 (tiānrǎngzhībié) — totally opposite
  • Chinese Mandarin: 截然不同 (jiéránbùtóng) — totally opposite
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大相徑庭 /大相径庭 (dàxiāngjìngtíng) — totally opposite
  • Finnish: täysin vastakkainen — totally opposite
  • Polish: totalnie przeciwny — totally opposite
  • Spanish: polos opuestos — totally opposite