defeat
[dih-feet]
- to overcome in a contest, election, battle, etc.; prevail over; vanquish: They defeated the enemy. She defeated her brother at tennis.
- to frustrate; thwart.
- to eliminate or deprive of something expected: The early returns defeated his hopes of election.
- Law. to annul.
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- the act of overcoming in a contest: an overwhelming defeat of all opposition.
- an instance of defeat; setback: He considered his defeat a personal affront.
- an overthrow or overturning; vanquishment: the defeat of a government.
- a bringing to naught; frustration: the defeat of all his hopes and dreams.
- the act or event of being bested; losing: Defeat is not something she abides easily.
- Archaic. undoing; destruction; ruin.
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Origin of defeat
1325–75; Middle English defeten (v.) < Anglo-French, Old French desfait, past participle of desfaire to undo, destroy < Medieval Latin disfacere, equivalent to Latin dis- dis-1 + facere to do
Synonyms
See more synonyms for defeat on Thesaurus.com1. overwhelm, overthrow, rout, check. 2. foil, baffle, balk. 7. downfall.
Synonym study
1. Defeat, conquer, overcome, subdue imply gaining a victory or control over an opponent. Defeat suggests beating or frustrating: to defeat an enemy in battle. Conquer implies finally gaining control over, usually after a series of efforts or against systematic resistance: to conquer a country, one's inclinations. Overcome emphasizes surmounting difficulties in prevailing over an antagonist: to overcome opposition, bad habits. Subdue means to conquer so completely that resistance is broken: to subdue a rebellious spirit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
defeat
- to overcome in a contest or competition; win a victory over
- to thwart or frustratethis accident has defeated all his hopes of winning
- law to render null and void; annul
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- the act of defeating or state of being defeated
- an instance of defeat
- overthrow or destruction
- law an annulment
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French desfait, from desfaire to undo, ruin, from des- dis- 1 + faire to do, from Latin facere
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for defeater
defeat
n.
1590s, from defeat (v.).
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defeat
v.
late 14c., from Anglo-French defeter, from Old French desfait, past participle of desfaire "to undo," from Vulgar Latin *diffacere "undo, destroy," from Latin dis- "un-, not" (see dis-) + facere "to do, perform" (see factitious). Original sense was of "bring ruination, cause destruction." Military sense of "conquer" is c.1600. Related: Defeated; defeating.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper