1
as in enemies
one that is hostile toward another
our old cat seemed to consider the new kitten an adversary
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opponents
one that takes a position opposite another in a competition or conflict
our adversaries in tomorrow's meet are from one of the top schools in the league
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of adversaries
Every quarter that a security team operates on a manual hunting cycle while adversaries run automated campaigns, the gap widens.
—
Aqsa Taylor, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
The stunning outcome caps a career like few others and shows the extent of the president’s ability to badger, badmouth and eventually boot out his political adversaries — and that no lawmaker is apparently safe.
—ABC News, 20 May 2026
The title of his third album, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE, suggests an MCU movie in which our hero attempts to take on every problem plaguing the planet—and this time, Owusu isn’t giving his adversaries code names.
—Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 19 May 2026
Other adversaries may be using this information in order to plan their own strategy.
—Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 17 May 2026
The Holy See has historically played a distinctive backchannel role in easing tensions between the two adversaries.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Google researchers said this is an example of adversaries increasingly leveraging AI to automate vulnerabilities, phishing campaigns, and malware development.
—Paulina Likos, CNBC, 12 May 2026
But Starlink and other low-Earth orbit communication constellations transmit higher-power signals in the Ku-band with wider bandwidths that are difficult for adversaries to disrupt through jamming.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026
The relatively low cost of entry into drone warfare has disrupted traditional military asymmetries, empowering non-state actors and smaller countries to challenge larger, technologically superior adversaries.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
Aqsa Taylor, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
The stunning outcome caps a career like few others and shows the extent of the president’s ability to badger, badmouth and eventually boot out his political adversaries — and that no lawmaker is apparently safe.
—ABC News, 20 May 2026
The title of his third album, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE, suggests an MCU movie in which our hero attempts to take on every problem plaguing the planet—and this time, Owusu isn’t giving his adversaries code names.
—Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 19 May 2026
Other adversaries may be using this information in order to plan their own strategy.
—Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 17 May 2026
The Holy See has historically played a distinctive backchannel role in easing tensions between the two adversaries.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 May 2026
Google researchers said this is an example of adversaries increasingly leveraging AI to automate vulnerabilities, phishing campaigns, and malware development.
—Paulina Likos, CNBC, 12 May 2026
But Starlink and other low-Earth orbit communication constellations transmit higher-power signals in the Ku-band with wider bandwidths that are difficult for adversaries to disrupt through jamming.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026
The relatively low cost of entry into drone warfare has disrupted traditional military asymmetries, empowering non-state actors and smaller countries to challenge larger, technologically superior adversaries.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adversaries
Noun
-
Joining the military includes an oath, a binding pledge to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic and maintain allegiance to the country.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
24 May 2026
-
Off Campus uses the messy lives of these athletes to explore romance tropes like fake-dating plots, enemies-to-lovers twists, secret relationships, and more.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
Their season has been busy, grumpy and overstretched, and pressure has been a niggling, constant companion, particularly at home, but their opponents on Sunday were hapless, soft in defence and muddled in their thinking.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
His hope was that Mendoza would help the Raiders do the same, figuratively, for their opponents.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Philly’s fans show out like few others can, and they’ll be leveled up in the presence of such familiar foes.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
But Sean Payton’s team was also abnormally good in one-score games, won its final two against division foes without their starting quarterbacks, played a third-place schedule and stayed fairly healthy — until overtime of the divisional round, at least.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
White Sox fans got the last laugh on Sunday afternoon as their squad completed a wild, thrilling comeback victory over their crosstown rivals.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
-
Ronda Rousey needed just 17 seconds to defeat Gina Carano via armbar on Saturday night, and her rivals needed about the same amount of time to take to social media to mock the performance.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adversaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adversaries. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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