opponent
Americannoun
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opponents
plural
adjective
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being opposite, as in position.
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opposing; adverse; antagonistic.
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Anatomy. bringing parts together or into opposition, as a muscle.
noun
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a person who opposes another in a contest, battle, etc
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anatomy an opponent muscle
adjective
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opposite, as in position
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anatomy (of a muscle) bringing two parts into opposition
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opposing; contrary
Usage
What does opponent mean? An opponent is someone who is against another person, as in a game, exhibition, or controversy. Opponent can also sometimes be used to describe being in opposition, as in Felix saw no opponent reason to change his vote. Example: Our opponent is strong, so don’t do anything reckless during the game.
Synonym Usage
Opponent, competitor, rival refer to persons engaged in a contest. Opponent is the most impersonal, meaning merely one who opposes; perhaps one who continually blocks and frustrates or one who happens to be on the opposite side in a temporary contest: an opponent in a debate. Competitor emphasizes the action in striving against another, or others, for a definite, common goal: competitors in business. Rival has both personal and emotional connotations; it emphasizes the idea that (usually) two persons are struggling to attain the same object: rivals for an office.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of opponent
1580–90; < Latin oppōnent- (stem of oppōnēns, present participle of oppōnere to place over, against, or in front of, make an obstacle), equivalent to op- op- + pōn ( ere ) to place, set, put + -ent- -ent
Explanation
An opponent is your competition, whether it's a rival hockey team, or the other finalist in the chess tournament. Coaches tell you to never underestimate your opponent. Someone who competes or fights against you is your opponent. If you're arguing that chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla, the vanilla ice cream fan is your opponent. An opponent can also be someone who opposes, like an opponent of gun control laws. The Latin word opponent means setting against, and it was first used in English to describe the person who would begin a certain type of philosophical debate.
Vocabulary lists containing opponent
Vocabulary of the Summer Olympics
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Check It Out, Mate: Chess Vocabulary
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Excerpt from "The Philosophy of Literary Form" by Kenneth Burke
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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.
See Examples For:
The determination is always about how it affects the opponent.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Swiss wrestler Matthieu Burger said his opponent "does it all the time, for me it's the first time. And he was stronger".
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Yet even Crockett says she “WOULDN’T, EVER” endorse Talarico’s Republican opponent, so something has clearly gone uniquely sideways in Michigan.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
After the matches against Australia, Japan and New Zealand, England will play a fourth Test against an as-yet-undecided southern hemisphere opponent in the play-off finals weekend of the new Nations Championship format.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
But before Bobby could consider his next chess opponent, he had to, first, face a formidable wow-chess opponent: the U.S. government.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
A combined $573 million were spent by Talarico and Paxton, as well as their defeated primary opponents, over the course of this campaign.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2026
The result also marks a defeat for tech billionaire Elon Musk, who became one of Talarico’s most vocal opponents in the final weeks of the campaign.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
In Nyon, Switzerland, Sarina Wiegman's side were drawn alongside familiar opponents, having faced Portugal in the previous Nations League campaign, while France and Austria have both been recent rivals in major tournament qualifying campaigns.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
While he acknowledges that whistleblowing about abuses is honorable and necessary, he condemns the tactics of many opponents of psychiatric treatment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
For ten seconds Odum stared at Brannon, silently measuring the man against old opponents.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
