as in to overcome
to achieve a victory over
they defeated their archrivals easily and moved into the next round of the play-offs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in loss
failure to win a contest
sore losers still griping about their defeat in the basketball game earlier that week
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in collapse
a falling short of one's goals
truly disheartened by the defeat of his plans to revitalize downtown
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defeat
Hannah Knowles,
Washington Post,
26 June 2026
After defeating Lyra Valkyria in the final, Jax challenged Bayley for the WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam and defeated her to capture the title.
—
Rob Wolkenbrod,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
Kaylah Jackson,
NBC news,
25 June 2026
In 2027, elections in France could result in a far-right candidate finally winning a Presidential runoff after some two decades of defeat.
—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for defeat
Verb
Silicon Valley titans were preparing to spend heavily to defeat them.
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Hannah Knowles,
Washington Post,
26 June 2026
After defeating Lyra Valkyria in the final, Jax challenged Bayley for the WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam and defeated her to capture the title.
—
Rob Wolkenbrod,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2026
Noun
Canada finished second in their group after defeat to Switzerland.
—
Kaylah Jackson,
NBC news,
25 June 2026
In 2027, elections in France could result in a far-right candidate finally winning a Presidential runoff after some two decades of defeat.
—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for defeat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeat
Verb
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Rather than be benched, Devers batted cleanup, overcame an 0-for-3 start, and singled up the middle in the seventh to score Bryce Eldridge, who narrowly beat a tag at the plate for a 3-1 lead.
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Its highly specialized strategy likely evolved to take advantage of the ant’s natural aggression and then overcome its defenses; the slingshot mechanism flings the ant from the foraging trail, reducing the risk that the spider will be swarmed by other workers, the researchers hypothesized.
Noun
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Cruz, who also gave up an RBI single to Anthony Seigler and a game-tying sac fly to Tsung-Che Cheng, made sure to take responsibility for his part in the loss.
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But shareholders have pushed back against hefty pay packages, which come during a period of upheaval in Hollywood that has been buffeted by job losses from media consolidation and outsourcing.
Noun
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Some even spent the night outdoors, fearing further collapses.
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That puts the whole system at risk for collapse, said Aaron Weiss, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities.
Verb
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With life spent largely on transit, navigating tight layovers, and using their days off to jet-set across the globe, flight attendants have mastered the art of packing.
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Netanyahu, 76, has spent decades mastering political theater, sharp messaging and grand performances.
Noun
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But if the stock market rally that powers the divide fizzles out, the economy could take a significant beating.
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Prosecutors allege that six of Arnold’s associates actually carried out the crimes, holding, beating and pistol-whipping the victims, and that Arnold wasn’t there at the time.
Noun
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Taking the midway point of those numbers, an opening weekend of $45 million would be a monumental failure.
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Then came this spring’s historic and devastating floods across northern Michigan — in some areas, for the first time anyone can remember — swamping homes, pushing dams to the brink of failure and washing out roadways.
Verb
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Bryson Stott's three-run homer highlighted Philadelphia's eight-run outburst in the ninth inning and the Phillies rallied to beat the Washington Nationals 14-9 on Tuesday night.
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Rather than be benched, Devers batted cleanup, overcame an 0-for-3 start, and singled up the middle in the seventh to score Bryce Eldridge, who narrowly beat a tag at the plate for a 3-1 lead.
Noun
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday delivered a major setback to ballot measures aimed at handing Democrats as many of seven of Colorado's eight Congressional seats.
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The rulings marked another setback for Democrats in a nationwide redistricting battle that could affect control of Congress.
Cite this Entry
“Defeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeat. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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