as in hostile
marked by opposition or ill will
the relationship between the president and the congress should not be adversarial if anything is to get done
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Recent Examples of adversarial
Trump has repeatedly expressed support for the protest movement and called for an end to Iran’s Islamist regime, which has long been adversarial to the US.
—
Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Trump’s Department of Energy — which has been adversarial toward renewables such as wind and solar — urged California to accept that deal.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026
Senior leaders often have to navigate relationships with difficult, skeptical, or even adversarial board members.
—Rachel Durose, Harvard Business Review, 7 Jan. 2026
China’s relations with its neighbors and closest cultural kin, Vietnam and Taiwan, remain among its most adversarial.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adversarial
Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Trump’s Department of Energy — which has been adversarial toward renewables such as wind and solar — urged California to accept that deal.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026
Senior leaders often have to navigate relationships with difficult, skeptical, or even adversarial board members.
—Rachel Durose, Harvard Business Review, 7 Jan. 2026
China’s relations with its neighbors and closest cultural kin, Vietnam and Taiwan, remain among its most adversarial.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adversarial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adversarial
Adjective
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His 134 men were armed with musket, cartridge pouch, and sword in case of a hostile encounter, and the Africaansche Galey lay close by with a couple of small cannon brought forward on the bow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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The broader goal, Rubio said, is a prosperous Venezuela aligned with the United States and no longer serving as a hub for hostile foreign powers.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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And one of the main lessons that will be learned from that account is that while the harms that occurred came quickly and sometimes surprisingly easily, their negative consequences — on universities and society at large — will linger for a long time.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The rapid rise of AI technology has had negative effects on the climate and humanity, albeit indirectly.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adversarial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adversarial. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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