set against

British  

verb

1. to balance or compare

   to set a person's faults against his virtues

2. to cause to be hostile or unfriendly to

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set against Idioms  

1. Be or cause someone to be opposed to, as in Civil wars often set brother against brother, or The police chief's critics were set against his officers. [Late 1200s] Also see dead set against.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

set against

Making his first appearance on Centre Court, he twice went a break down in a must-win fourth set against Dimitrov, before the 35-year-old Bulgarian's own nerves appeared and Fery capitalised.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

D’Angelo’s children introduced the medley, which was set against a backdrop of floor to ceiling windows looking out on a starry sky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Watched on by a packed-out home crowd at Roehampton, Evans seemed to be enjoying himself and playing with freedom during a tight first set against Australian Schoolkate.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

The kitchen and bedroom of the Kowalskis’ claustrophobic two-room apartment were set against a rear wall of louvered shutters with a second-story wrought-iron balcony reached by a spiral staircase; a streetlamp marked the outdoor scenes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

When a small galaxy runs into a larger one face-on it can produce one of the loveliest of the rare irregulars, a ring galaxy thousands of light-years across, set against the velvet of intergalactic space.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• analyze
• contrast
• correlate
• equal
• match
• measure
• study