Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for set against. Search instead for set+against.
Synonyms

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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.

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.

As Sinner looked to secure the opening set against Lehecka, he twice dispatched first serves from the Czech with crushing cross-court forehands.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

A mountain of chairs set against the backdrop of a tarp curtain is the starting point for a production that recaps Shakespeare’s War of the Roses saga.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

Alcaraz raced through the opening set against Royer, breaking twice without facing a break point.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

To the uninitiated, cross-country skiing looks like a graceful, rhythmic activity set against a hushed winter landscape.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Still, Rowan’s expression gave her neither camaraderie nor sympathy, nor misery at having to be set against each other.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

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.