go against

phrasal verb

went against; gone against; going against; goes against

: to not agree with (something)

I won't do anything that goes against my conscience/beliefs/principles.

values that go against those of society

: to oppose (someone or something)

He was surprised when some of his former supporters went against him.

He was reluctant to go against his parents' wishes.

: to compete against (a player or team) in a contest or game

The Red Sox will be going against the Yankees in tonight's game.

: to not be good for (someone) : to not produce the result that is wanted by (someone)

Everything seemed to be going against her but she didn't give up hope.

The verdict went against the defendant.

Examples of go against in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Claiming uncertainty goes against the grain of scientific norms, where the culture often rewards strong and striking claims. —

Eran Bendavid and Chirag Patel, STAT, 5 June 2024 What makes Sondheim so complex is the way his melodies and lyrics go against a lot of traditional musical training. —

David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 3 June 2024 The Kansas City Royals had a few chances to get something going against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday afternoon. —

Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 15 May 2024 This conclusion goes against scientists’ conventional thoughts about the sun’s magnetic field. —

Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2024 The ceremony reportedly went against the wishes of his brother Carl, who had made plans to have Dennis buried near their father Murray in Inglewood Cemetery in Inglewood, Calif. —

Nicole Briese, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024 The party also maintains allegiance to allies from the anti-apartheid struggle, like Russia, and cheers fellow liberation organizations, like ZANU-PF of Zimbabwe, even when doing so goes against South Africa’s interests. —

John Eligon Prentice Onayemi Anna Diamond Devin Murphy, New York Times, 21 May 2024 This is a team that started with no first-round picks in 2022 and ended up with three — and then went against convention and selected defenseman Kevin Korchinski at No. 7, considered a reach at the time. —

Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2024 This game should provide a great matchup of rookies with Worthy going against the Ravens’ Nate Wiggins, the fastest and highest-rated cover cornerback in college football last season whom Baltimore took with the 30th pick. —

Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'go against.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.