obverse

Other forms: obverses

The obverse is the main, or primary, side of something that has two sides. The obverse of a quarter is the side with the handsome profile of George Washington on it.

Obverse is very often used to mean "the front of a coin or medal," although you can also use it to describe the principal or more obvious side of anything with a front and a back. Confusingly, this word also means "the opposite," as in, "Your messy room is the obverse of your idea of yourself as a tidy person." The Latin root helps to explain this seeming conflict between meanings — obversus means both "directed toward" and "turned against."

Definitions of obverse

1. noun

   the more conspicuous of two alternatives or cases or sides
   “the obverse of this issue”

   type of:

   alternative, choice, option

   one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen
2. noun

   the side of a coin or medal bearing the principal stamp or design
   antonyms:

   reverse

   the side of a coin or medal that does not bear the principal design

   types:

   head

   (usually plural) the obverse side of a coin that usually bears the representation of a person's head

   type of:

   side

   an extended outer surface of an object