Synonyms of defeats

defeats 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of defeat

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

• overcomes
• masters
• beats
• conquers
• takes
• gets
• dispatches
• stops
• subdues
• surmounts
• succeeds
• upends
• bests
• overmatches
• wins (against)
• triumphs (over)
• overbears
• prevails (over)
• worsts
• licks
• gets the better of
• does down
• buries
• overwhelms
• gets around
• trims
• finishes
• crushes
• slaughters
• surpasses
• sweeps
• upsets
• scores
• skunks
• routs
• knocks for a loop
• annihilates
• drubs
• exceeds
• vanquishes
• excels
• trounces
• flattens
• clobbers
• bombs
• blows out
• thrashes
• edges (out)
• overthrows
• blows away
• overpowers
• subjugates
• whips
• wallops
• noses out
• breaks
• transcends
• flourishes
• caps
• tops
• unseats
• eclipses
• outshines
• outdistances
• knocks over
• smokes
• pips
• skins
• outdoes
• knocks off
• creams
• shellacs
• outstrips
• waxes
• snows under
• overtops
• outfights
• betters
• aces (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• loses (to)
• falls
• goes down
• fails
• collapses
• goes under
• gives up
• folds
• flops
• washes out
• flunks

defeats

2 of 2

noun

plural of defeat

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

• losses
• setbacks
• beatings
• routs
• overthrows
• drubbings
• failures
• trimmings
• whippings
• lickings
• collapses
• upsets
• shellackings
• plasterings
• shutouts
• flops
• lumps
• fiascoes
• debacles
• fizzles
• washouts
• lurches
• nonsuccesses
• whitewashes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• victories
• wins
• successes
• triumphs
• achievements
• accomplishments
• sweeps
• landslides
• blowouts
• runaways
• romps
• cakewalks
• walkovers
• walkaways

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

• collapses
• failures
• crashes
• setbacks
• fizzles
• disappointments
• croppers
• futilities
• nonsuccesses
• deficiencies
• nonachievements
• inadequacies
• letdowns
• insufficiencies
• inefficacies
• ineffectualities

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• achievements
• successes
• accomplishments
• victories
• wins

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of defeats

Verb

David overcomes Goliath while Odysseus defeats the cyclops Polyphemus. — Theodore McDarrah, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Costly defeats If past is prologue, Democratic insiders are right to be concerned. — David M. Drucker, Mercury News, 15 July 2026

Kylian Mbappé held scoreless as Spain defeats France in World Cup semi. — Alex Connor, USA Today, 15 July 2026

Cespedes defeats Todd Frazier in the final round, 9 long balls to 1, having hit 28 overall. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026

Switzerland joked that Okoye will remain as assistant coach if the team defeats Argentina. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026

Ultimately, Paul challenges the emperor, defeats his champion, and demands the Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) as his wife. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 9 July 2026

Brazil defeats Japan in the final minute, 2-1 Brazil is through to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 after a last-minute goal broke Japanese hearts in Houston in the first game of the day. — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 29 June 2026

The player uses a stubby wooden bat shaped like a small frying pan to try to scoop it back, but the geometry defeats her. — Mark Rice-Oxley, Christian Science Monitor, 29 June 2026

Noun

Your mind fills with all the defeats; all the anguish of mistakes made and opportunities missed. — Kristine Fischer, Outdoor Life, 16 July 2026

Then came consecutive defeats to Georgia and Georgia Tech, two losses under totally different circumstances that launched this downfall. — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 15 July 2026

That lowlight culminated a week of three defeats for Phoenix, with only the 3-point loss to Indiana (which was missing Caitlin Clark) acceptable for a team coming off a finals appearance. — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 13 July 2026

Those earlier playoff defeats were entirely deserved, because the salary cap had chipped away at the roster and the Lightning were a lesser team. — Scott Turick, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2026

Heavy defeats in key areas would further dilute the ANC’s power. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 8 July 2026

Since the venue opened in 1966, the national team has suffered just two defeats there, the latter of which was more than a decade ago against Honduras in September 2013. — Carlos Rodriguez, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026

At one point in the 1980s, a local news article reported that the district attorney’s office had suffered nine trial defeats in a row. — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 30 June 2026

Uzbekistan's debut at the World Cup ended in three straight defeats. — CBS News, 28 June 2026