TITLE: Is every monoid isomorphic to its opposite
QUESTION [12 upvotes]: This may be  a trivial question. Every group is isomorphic to its opposite using the isomorphism that sends $x$ to $x^{-1}$. Now does this hold even if the condition of existence of inverses is dropped. More precisely:
Is every monoid isomorphic to its opposite ?
I am expecting the existence of a counterexample, but I don't have any for now.
Thank you

REPLY [16 votes]: No.  Let $X$ be any finite set with at least two elements, and consider the monoid $\mathrm{End}(X)$, of functions $X \to X$, under composition.
Each constant function $c$ is a left-absorbing element, i.e. $cf = c$ for any $f$.  However, there are no right-absorbing elements in the monoid.  So $\mathrm{End}(X)$ cannot be isomorphic to its opposite, since any such isomorphism would have to interchange left- and right-absorbing elements.

REPLY [5 votes]: No. Take a semigroup of left zeroes ($ab=a$ for all $a,b\in S$). Antiisomorphic to $S$ (but not isomorphic) is a semigroup of right zeroes  ($ab=b$). If you want to get a 
monoid, join to both of them an identity.