Antithesis is a figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting or opposing ideas, usually within parallel grammatical structures. For instance, Neil Armstrong used antithesis when he stepped onto the surface of the moon in 1969 and said, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

Following are some famous examples of Antithesis “ Love is an ideal thing; marriage is a real thing.” — Goethe “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” — Neil Armstrong “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.”

Antithesis used in figures of speech might sound something like the famous phrase made by Neil Armstrong on his moon landing, he said: “that’s one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.” The small step and giant step are the antitheses because they are the direct opposite of one another and yet contrast in the sentence.

The two contrasting ideas are “small step for man” and “giant leap for mankind.” If I were forced to write out exactly what Armstrong meant with his quote, it would be something like this. Even though I am taking just a small step here on the moon, the mere fact that I am on the moon is an indication of how far we have come as a species.