1
as in foes
one that takes a position opposite another in a competition or conflict
in martial arts, before the match begins, always bow to your opponent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in enemies
one that is hostile toward another
the senator has many political opponents who would love to ruin his career
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 opponents
But Hunter is larger than Strus, can man more brute opponents and churned out one of the more versatile shooting seasons of 2024-25.
—
Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
In leaked Telegram messages first reported by Politico, Young Republicans leaders privately made racist and otherwise offensive jokes about their political opponents.
—David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2025
Tan and his political opponents were at odds for good reason.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
But his opponents point to real-world emotional harm caused to the victims' families, who suffered threats and harassment.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Porter’s opponents were quick to criticize the front-runner’s response in the sit-down interview.
—Julia Manchester, The Hill, 8 Oct. 2025
Many jurisdictions virtually ceased enforcing the law against dangerous, repeat offenders, while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents like me.
—NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
Rarely do Presidents mention their political opponents by name during joint sessions of Congress.
—Nik Popli, TIME, 5 Mar. 2025
Only seven of the final 20 games are against opponents in a playoff position and two of those are against the Kings, whom the Blues beat 4-1 last week.
—Jeremy Rutherford, The Athletic, 5 Mar. 2025
Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
In leaked Telegram messages first reported by Politico, Young Republicans leaders privately made racist and otherwise offensive jokes about their political opponents.
—David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2025
Tan and his political opponents were at odds for good reason.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
But his opponents point to real-world emotional harm caused to the victims' families, who suffered threats and harassment.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Porter’s opponents were quick to criticize the front-runner’s response in the sit-down interview.
—Julia Manchester, The Hill, 8 Oct. 2025
Many jurisdictions virtually ceased enforcing the law against dangerous, repeat offenders, while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents like me.
—NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
Rarely do Presidents mention their political opponents by name during joint sessions of Congress.
—Nik Popli, TIME, 5 Mar. 2025
Only seven of the final 20 games are against opponents in a playoff position and two of those are against the Kings, whom the Blues beat 4-1 last week.
—Jeremy Rutherford, The Athletic, 5 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opponents
Noun
-
Children’s Health Defense, the organization Kennedy built into one of the fiercest foes of childhood vaccines, took interest in the Idaho bill early on.—
Audrey Dutton,
ProPublica,
20 Oct. 2025
-
The complexity of the mechanics becomes a little more apparent as tougher foes begin blocking and parrying more astutely, forcing the player’s hand to put in a little more effort in their decision making.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The second rule is that yesterday's allies are tomorrow's enemies, and vice versa.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Blues, who included woke Luddites and other political enemies, would be shut out of the bounty—forced out, in fact.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Analysts say Nike’s lack of product innovation and absence from wholesalers in recent years allowed those upstart rivals to gain market share.—
Merritt Enright,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The Israeli Premier League match was due to be played at Bloomfield Stadium, which is shared by the two rivals, but videos on social media showed fans clashing with police both inside and outside the area.—
Amy Woodyatt,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Cuban Missile Crisis suggests that leaders sometimes respond more effectively when adversaries stay quiet and that open declarations of intent, paradoxically, can make governments more likely to dismiss threats as posturing.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
-
In recent years, the alliance has sought to be more transparent about nuclear exercises to reassure the public and partners while deterring potential adversaries.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Despite the advances in AI, Duan concedes that early domestic CAE software lagged behind foreign competitors in several areas.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Kahn is optimistic that Coach’s focus on a smaller number of affordable, yet consistent products puts it in a better place to manage cost and price increases than its competitors.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Opponents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opponents. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share