Lesley Jeffries introduces a phenomenon which has not been given the attention it deserves - the contextual construction of oppositional meaning.¿ These are opposites not recognisable as such out of context but that are clearly set up this way in the text concerned. ¿ The significance of oppositional meaning is well-known, and has been discussed by scholars for millennia, from Philosophy to Politics.¿ But the main emphasis has always been on the conventional opposite: the opposite recognised by lexical semantics. ¿ Starting from socio-cultural viewpoints, moving to original research and then concluding with a new theoretical formulation, this book introduces and consolidates a significant new approach to the analysis of oppositional meaning.¿ It closes with a discussion of the importance of constructed opposition in hegemonic practice and makes a case for the inclusion of opposition as a central tool of critical discourse analysis.¿ It will be essential reading for researchers and graduates¿in stylistics, linguistics¿and language studies.