as in lawsuits
a court case brought against the plaintiff of another court case by the defendant
The defendant filed a counterclaim for his own injuries, claiming that he only rear-ended the plaintiff because she had stopped too fast.
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Recent Examples of counterclaims
The team's counterclaims include defamation, civil conspiracy, tortious interference and breach of contract.
—
Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The Jane the Virgin alum’s counterclaims against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which involved allegations of extortion and defamation, were dismissed by Judge Liman in June.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Earlier this month, a judge allowed OpenAI to move forward with counterclaims against Musk.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2025
Whether OpenAI will prevail on its counterclaims is anybody's guess.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2025
The ruling came despite Musk's legal team requesting that the counterclaims be dismissed.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The Jane the Virgin alum’s counterclaims against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which involved allegations of extortion and defamation, were dismissed by Judge Liman in June.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Earlier this month, a judge allowed OpenAI to move forward with counterclaims against Musk.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 22 Aug. 2025
Whether OpenAI will prevail on its counterclaims is anybody's guess.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2025
The ruling came despite Musk's legal team requesting that the counterclaims be dismissed.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterclaims
Noun
-
The judgment releases the county from four separate federal lawsuits filed by various plaintiffs against officials.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
12 Nov. 2025
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Each of the first three lawsuits seeks more than $1 million in damages.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Nov. 2025
Noun
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There are factories waiting in line, and there are constant complaints from members that inspections still need to be completed.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
11 Nov. 2025
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Despite those complaints, crime is down across the board in Nashville this year.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterclaims.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterclaims. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
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