adversarial
adjective
ad·ver·sar·i·al
ˌad-vər-ˈser-ē-əl 
ˌad-və-,
-ˈse-rē-
: involving two people or two sides who oppose each other : of, relating to, or characteristic of an adversary or adversary procedures (see adversary entry 2 sense 2)
an adversarial relationship
an adversarial system of justice with prosecution and defense opposing each other
Examples of adversarial in a Sentence
an adversarial system of justice with prosecution and defense opposing each other
the relationship between the president and the congress should not be adversarial if anything is to get done
Recent Examples on the Web
These firewalls monitor and filter interactions with LLMs, blocking suspicious or adversarial inputs that could influence the model’s behavior.
—
Alex Pinaev, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
With the lawsuit, filed on Friday in Florida federal court, the Journal becomes the latest media outlet targeted by Trump for adversarial reporting, joining ABC News and CBS News.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 18 July 2025
The quick and smooth system of payouts originally envisioned has evolved into a more adversarial one with lawyers for the Department of Justice duking it out with plaintiffs’ attorneys, which Kennedy says runs counter to the program’s intent.
—Patricia Callahan, CNN Money, 18 July 2025
Secondary tariffs are trade penalties imposed not directly on an adversarial country, but on third-party nations, companies, or entities that continue to do business with that adversary in violation of sanctions or restrictions.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for adversarial
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Alex Pinaev, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
With the lawsuit, filed on Friday in Florida federal court, the Journal becomes the latest media outlet targeted by Trump for adversarial reporting, joining ABC News and CBS News.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 18 July 2025
The quick and smooth system of payouts originally envisioned has evolved into a more adversarial one with lawyers for the Department of Justice duking it out with plaintiffs’ attorneys, which Kennedy says runs counter to the program’s intent.
—Patricia Callahan, CNN Money, 18 July 2025
Secondary tariffs are trade penalties imposed not directly on an adversarial country, but on third-party nations, companies, or entities that continue to do business with that adversary in violation of sanctions or restrictions.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for adversarial
Cite this Entry
“Adversarial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adversarial. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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adversarial
adjective
ad·ver·sar·i·al
ˌad-vər-ˈser-ē-əl
: of, relating to, or characteristic of an adversary or adversary procedures : adversary
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