as in overcomes
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 losses
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 collapses
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 defeats
Brian T. Krista, Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb. 2026
If New England defeats the Seattle Seahawks, Vrabel will become the first person to ever win a Super Bowl as both a player and a head coach for the same franchise.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2026
Gold Coast League co-champions Brentwood and Crossroads have already met twice and could meet a third time in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs if Brentwood defeats Fairmont Prep and Crossroads defeats Long Beach Poly.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
And that defeats the entire purpose of the change.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
If New England defeats Buffalo on Sunday, the Patriots will clinch the AFC East title for the first time since 2019.
—CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
If that happens and San Diego State defeats New Mexico, Boise State would play at SDSU in the title game, with the winner heading to the LA Bowl.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 26 Nov. 2025
If Michigan defeats the Buckeyes and either Indiana or Oregon loses, Moore's team would be in the Big Ten title game.
—Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025
If top-seeded SDFC defeats fourth-seed Minnesota and the weather cooperates, the party would attract more would-be revelers for a homefield match against LAFC or Vancouver with an MLS Cup berth on the line.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
For much of 2025, their doldrums felt much worse than the typical rough patch that parties endure after bad election defeats.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
Forest have been dreadful in a pair of defeats against Dyche’s previous employers, Everton, 3-0 away and 2-0 at the City Ground, in little over three December weeks.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Shiffrin was predictably gracious in defeat — as rare as those defeats are.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
And in the Royals’ case, the one-run defeats must end in 2026.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Feb. 2026
Ownership is one of the quiet defeats of the streaming era.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2026
That stretch included two overtime losses and two more defeats on shots in the final seconds.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
Both memoirs prepare the lay gambler for a world of gruelling, bruising defeats and unglamorous back-of-the-envelope calculus.
—Dan Piepenbring, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
South Carroll defeats Rising Sun in the Class 1A final during the 2026 MPSSAA Dual Wrestling State Championships at North Point High School on Saturday, Feb 14.
—Brian T. Krista, Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb. 2026
If New England defeats the Seattle Seahawks, Vrabel will become the first person to ever win a Super Bowl as both a player and a head coach for the same franchise.
—Chad Graff, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2026
Gold Coast League co-champions Brentwood and Crossroads have already met twice and could meet a third time in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs if Brentwood defeats Fairmont Prep and Crossroads defeats Long Beach Poly.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
And that defeats the entire purpose of the change.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
If New England defeats Buffalo on Sunday, the Patriots will clinch the AFC East title for the first time since 2019.
—CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
If that happens and San Diego State defeats New Mexico, Boise State would play at SDSU in the title game, with the winner heading to the LA Bowl.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 26 Nov. 2025
If Michigan defeats the Buckeyes and either Indiana or Oregon loses, Moore's team would be in the Big Ten title game.
—Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025
If top-seeded SDFC defeats fourth-seed Minnesota and the weather cooperates, the party would attract more would-be revelers for a homefield match against LAFC or Vancouver with an MLS Cup berth on the line.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Nov. 2025
Noun
The night was young, the start of a grueling journey to back-to-back defeats in the Lakers’ penultimate game before the All-Star break.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
For much of 2025, their doldrums felt much worse than the typical rough patch that parties endure after bad election defeats.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
Forest have been dreadful in a pair of defeats against Dyche’s previous employers, Everton, 3-0 away and 2-0 at the City Ground, in little over three December weeks.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Shiffrin was predictably gracious in defeat — as rare as those defeats are.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
And in the Royals’ case, the one-run defeats must end in 2026.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Feb. 2026
Ownership is one of the quiet defeats of the streaming era.
—Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2026
That stretch included two overtime losses and two more defeats on shots in the final seconds.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026
Both memoirs prepare the lay gambler for a world of gruelling, bruising defeats and unglamorous back-of-the-envelope calculus.
—Dan Piepenbring, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeats
Verb
-
LithSonic overcomes this challenge by using supersonic flow, similar to the conditions inside a rocket engine, to achieve ultra-rapid cooling through a process known as shock quenching.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
-
After a sluggish start, Texas overcomes a 14-point deficit to tie the game before OU's Xzayvier Brown hits a 3-pointer to give his team the halftime lead.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Those market jitters saw over $1 trillion wiped from the market caps of big tech firms, though some stocks have since recovered some of their losses.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Its benefits include greater energy capture without atmospheric losses, near-continuous sunlight, as well as optimal sun-facing orientation.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Power that relies on repetition collapses when the pattern is named.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Even more distressing for the Knights is the program’s recent history of late-season collapses.—
Matt Murschel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Stylist Chrissy Rasmussen masters the layered medium-length look on clients.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
20 Dec. 2025
-
Bette Davis masters a rare light comedy turn as Sherry's long-suffering secretary, with Jimmy Durante as a visitor from Broadway and Wizard of Oz (1939) good witch Billie Burke as the overwhelmed matriarch of the Stanley clan.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Everyone in life faces obstacles and setbacks while trying to achieve hopes and dreams without realizing what God is doing, Tebow said.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Bubic didn’t experience any setbacks.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The city of Malibu sued the state and the city and county of Los Angeles and other entities on Wednesday, accusing them of various failures that led to the start and proliferation of the Palisades fire that destroyed hundreds of Malibu homes along with municipal facilities and infrastructure.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Federal regulators are shutting down more than 550 commercial driving schools nationwide after finding unqualified instructors, inadequate testing and other safety failures.—
Josh Funk,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Albemarle revenue down but beats expectations Albemarle also raised its long-term global lithium demand forecast Thursday, citing an explosive growth in the stationary storage market.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
-
For most people, action, cultivating a sense of agency, beats seething.—
Wendy Nelson Espeland,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
We are threatened with beatings and gunfire.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Colmenarez told the Herald that he was contacted that fall by the FBI, which wanted to talk with him about Quero Silva and the beatings at the national guard headquarters in Barquisimeto.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defeats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeats. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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