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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of defeats
Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 9 May 2026
Over-spraying leads to streaks, which defeats the entire purpose.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2026
On the back of four Premier League defeats in a row and a squad pockmarked by injuries, some kind of change was required.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Al Gore defeats George W Bush to become the 42nd President of the United States.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Birdville bounces back, defeats Grapevine Birdville lost 8-2 to District 6-5A frontrunner Richland on Tuesday.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2026
Behind standout efforts from Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez, the UCLA women’s basketball team defeats South Carolina for the NCAA national championship.
—Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Cleaning with dirty tools defeats the purpose.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
The 49ers have gone to the playoffs in five of the past seven seasons, winning at least one game in each postseason trip, with four NFC Championship Game appearances and Super Bowl defeats in the 2019 and ’23 seasons.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 7 May 2026
Jake LaRavia, who played in all 82 games for the Lakers during the regular season, simply digressed when asked what the Lakers could have learned from the quartet of defeats.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 3 May 2026
Lula is yet to make public comments about his defeats in Congress.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Verb
This time, though, he's already somewhat sidelined by the introduction of Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), and then he's stunningly killed during a fight with Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who defeats him and crushes his head.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 9 May 2026
Over-spraying leads to streaks, which defeats the entire purpose.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2026
On the back of four Premier League defeats in a row and a squad pockmarked by injuries, some kind of change was required.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Al Gore defeats George W Bush to become the 42nd President of the United States.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Birdville bounces back, defeats Grapevine Birdville lost 8-2 to District 6-5A frontrunner Richland on Tuesday.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2026
Behind standout efforts from Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez, the UCLA women’s basketball team defeats South Carolina for the NCAA national championship.
—Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Cleaning with dirty tools defeats the purpose.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
The 49ers have gone to the playoffs in five of the past seven seasons, winning at least one game in each postseason trip, with four NFC Championship Game appearances and Super Bowl defeats in the 2019 and ’23 seasons.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
Noun
All season long, the Wolves have relied on their resilience to bounce back from embarrassing defeats.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 7 May 2026
Jake LaRavia, who played in all 82 games for the Lakers during the regular season, simply digressed when asked what the Lakers could have learned from the quartet of defeats.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 3 May 2026
Lula is yet to make public comments about his defeats in Congress.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeats
Verb
-
This proprietary approach overcomes challenges of surface treatment and dispersion associated with the material.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Leo consistently overcomes challenges such as low light, rapid movement, and split second moments to produce sharp, compelling images.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Until late in the season, Indiana had more losses than any other program in college football history.—
Antonio Morales,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
-
Laurel won’t have a Triple Crown contender to offset losses.—
Sam Cohn,
Baltimore Sun,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Word of Olena’s infirmary spread throughout Mariupol’s central district, and locals caught in shellings and crossfire and building collapses came to seek her out.—
James Verini,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
-
Smith then humorously highlighted how Skip Bayless has crashed out over the years due to Cowboys’ playoff collapses and other failings by throwing jerseys and other merchandise away.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Finally, Kim masters the steps and takes to the stage with confidence, as her family cheers her on!—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
-
Levy masters one hilarious perplexed comedic reaction after another as Nicky, a closeted pastor with a zany, highly dysfunctional family.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Markets have soared and oil prices have dropped over the last week, however, amid anticipation that a deal could be close after weeks of talks and occasional setbacks.—
Peter Nicholas,
NBC news,
10 May 2026
-
Following the local election setbacks, the Prime Minister has faced calls to resign or to set a timetable to vacate his leadership position, including from members of his own Labour Party.—
Chandelis Duster,
NPR,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
The massive rocket has encountered a number of anomalies and failures since its debut in April 2023 ended in a premature explosion, including fiery mishaps both on the test stand and mid-flight that have attracted plenty of headlines.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
-
However, residents are still under a boil water order while crews continue testing and monitoring for additional failures.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
New York quite like this tune (though there is one a little later on the list that beats this puppy in that category).—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
-
Nothing beats a weekend getaway to a small town.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Each day, they are filled with one-dimensional stories of beatings, stabbing and shootings — all sad accounts of a city in decline.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2026
-
Trips to detention hearings brought beatings.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defeats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeats. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
