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juxtapose

/ˈdʒʌkstəpoʊz//ˌdʒʌkstəˈpəʊz/·verb
to place side by side, especially to highlight a contrast
Fig. 1 — A square frame and a round frame swing in on their wires and settle a polite distance apart, and between them there is nothing to remark on.
01Definition

To juxtapose is to put two things next to each other on purpose — usually so that the contrast between them says something neither could say alone. A film juxtaposes wealth and poverty in adjacent shots; an essay juxtaposes two thinkers; a gallery hangs a medieval icon beside a neon sign. From the Latin juxta, 'next to': the technique is pure placement, and the meaning appears in the gap.

02In use
  • iThe documentary juxtaposes luxury hotels with the slums a street away, making the disparity impossible to miss.
  • iiThe exhibition juxtaposes Renaissance portraits with contemporary photography, to vivid effect.
  • iiiJuxtaposing the two translations reveals how differently each handles humor.
03Collocations
  • juxtapose X with Y
  • the juxtaposition of
  • juxtaposed images
  • deliberately juxtaposed

Family juxtaposition (noun) · juxtaposed (adjective)

04Relations

=set side by side, place together, contrast, pair, collocate

≠separate, isolate

06TOEFL & IELTS

A TOEFL arts-and-literature regular: passages on collage, montage, and rhetoric lean on 'juxtaposition', and rhetorical-purpose questions ask why an author juxtaposes two examples. In IELTS writing about art or media, 'the juxtaposition of X and Y' is an instant register-raiser. Note the noun stress: juxtapoSItion.

07Asked
Do you juxtapose one thing with or against another?
The standard pattern is to juxtapose X with Y: the film juxtaposes wealth with poverty. You will also meet the passive — X is juxtaposed with Y — and the plural subject: the two images are juxtaposed. 'Juxtapose X and Y' is common and accepted too; 'against' is rarer and best avoided in exam writing.
Is juxtaposition always about contrast?
No — juxtaposition is the placement, not the contrast. Two things set side by side can expose a difference, but they can just as well reveal an unexpected likeness or build a third meaning neither had alone. Contrast is simply the most common payoff. In the scene above, the square and round frames never change; everything happens in the gap between them.
What does juxtaposition mean in art and photography?
A deliberate placement device: photographers set old beside new, huge beside tiny, or light beside shadow inside one frame so that the pairing itself makes the point. Critics then name the technique — 'the juxtaposition of the ruin and the billboard'. In essays about paintings, films or advertising, describing what an artist juxtaposes is a ready-made way to discuss intent.
Which is more common, juxtapose or juxtaposition?
The noun, by a wide margin. Juxtaposition appears far more often than the verb in real prose, and it usually carries the analytical work: 'the juxtaposition of X and Y suggests…'. Both were built from Latin juxta, 'next to', with the verb reaching English via the French poser, 'to place'. If you learn one form for essays, learn the noun.
How do you pronounce juxtapose in American and British English?
Differently, and the difference is the stress. American English usually fronts it: JUX-ta-pose /ˈdʒʌkstəpoʊz/. British English pushes the stress to the end: jux-ta-POSE /ˌdʒʌkstəˈpəʊz/. Both are correct; pick one accent and stay consistent. The noun behaves the same in both varieties, which makes it the safer word to say aloud.
What is the opposite of juxtaposing two things?
Separating or isolating them — undoing the nearness. In analysis, though, the working opposites are subtler: to take each thing in isolation, or to compare them explicitly instead of letting placement speak. That last difference is worth knowing for essays: comparison argues the likeness or difference aloud, while juxtaposition stays silent and makes the reader build it — which is why critics credit it as the more deliberate artistic choice.