adversary
Americannoun
plural
adversaries-
a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent; enemy; foe.
- Antonyms:
- ally
-
a person, group, etc., that is an opponent in a contest; contestant.
-
the Adversary, the devil; Satan.
adjective
-
of or relating to an adversary.
-
involving adversaries, as plaintiff and defendant in a legal proceeding.
an adversary trial.
noun
-
a person or group that is hostile to someone; enemy
-
an opposing contestant in a game or sport
adjective
Related Words
Adversary, antagonist mean a person or a group contending against another. Adversary suggests an enemy who fights determinedly, continuously, and relentlessly: a formidable adversary. Antagonist suggests one who, in hostile spirit, opposes another, often in a particular contest or struggle: a duel with an antagonist.
Other Word Forms
- adversariness noun
- nonadversarial adjective
Etymology
Origin of adversary
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English adversarie, from Latin adversārius; equivalent to adverse + -ary; replacing Middle English adversere, from Anglo-French
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She had the clear upper hand, being both invisible and a badger, a natural adversary to snakes.
From Literature
The court wrote that it’s an ethical problem when the “prolonged access” at J&J was “followed by collaborative efforts with its most prominent adversary.”
Our next generation of ground- and air-launched extended-range standoff weapons will help cement our competitive advantage inside China’s—or any adversary’s—defensive periphery.
For litigators, it has created a new imperative: ferreting out citations that have been fabricated by AI bots in their own court filings — and their adversaries’.
From Los Angeles Times
But, with Owen Farrell back at fly-half and Finn Russell straight back into the fray after the Six Nations, two old adversaries were reunited at 10.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
