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
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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
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Recent Examples of opponents
Under captain Eric Brown, the GB&I team was even instructed not to help opponents search for lost balls.
—
Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Through two games, the Ragin’ Cajuns have held opponents to an average of 12 points per game — a mark that’s tied for the best in the Sun Belt.
—Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
And if history continues to repeat itself, the Panthers will continue to look like first-half fodder to their opponents over the next several weeks.
—Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
From understanding the playbook, detecting an opponents’ strategy to developing leadership traits, there’s a lot of pressure to perform.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
The 38-year-old Uruguayan icon, one of the greatest strikers in history with more than 500 goals for club and country, has been banned on three occasions for biting opponents during matches.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
About a half-dozen opponents outside of ACC play are projected to be among the country's top 75 teams.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
The strategy involved putting Blue Owl’s patch on the opponents of top-seeded players, who are likely to get the most viewership – at a lower price point than a traditional TV ad.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025
The Rangers’ wins have come in series against the Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks, only losing once in 10 games against the four opponents.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2025
Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Through two games, the Ragin’ Cajuns have held opponents to an average of 12 points per game — a mark that’s tied for the best in the Sun Belt.
—Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
And if history continues to repeat itself, the Panthers will continue to look like first-half fodder to their opponents over the next several weeks.
—Diamond Vences, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
From understanding the playbook, detecting an opponents’ strategy to developing leadership traits, there’s a lot of pressure to perform.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
The 38-year-old Uruguayan icon, one of the greatest strikers in history with more than 500 goals for club and country, has been banned on three occasions for biting opponents during matches.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
About a half-dozen opponents outside of ACC play are projected to be among the country's top 75 teams.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 2 Sep. 2025
The strategy involved putting Blue Owl’s patch on the opponents of top-seeded players, who are likely to get the most viewership – at a lower price point than a traditional TV ad.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025
The Rangers’ wins have come in series against the Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks, only losing once in 10 games against the four opponents.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opponents
Noun
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Green Bay went 1-5 against divisional foes in 2005, though, and Sherman was fired one day after the season ended.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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All four of its losses came to Detroit and the Rams, a pair of excellent foes.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Like its predecessor, Age of Imprisonment isn’t exactly a typical Zelda game, instead borrowing the design of musou series like Dynasty Warriors for hard-hitting combat against hordes of enemies.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
12 Sep. 2025
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Specifically, there are a ton of underbarrel attachments that are great, from hucking cleavers at enemies for one shot kills, shooting out gravity wells, laying down corrosive pools or an AOE energy blast around you.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Over the last three years both Teck and Anglo have been takeover targets for their mining rivals, Australia’s BHP and Swiss-based Glencore.—
Tim Treadgold,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The product launches demonstrate how Europe’s legacy manufacturers are taking the fight to their Chinese rivals, in a bid to both retain market share in the European Union and offset declining sales in China, the world’s largest car market.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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If quantum adversaries gain the upper hand, the implications for national and global economic stability could be catastrophic.—
John Prisco,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The biggest casualty, says Srivastava, will be the goodwill between India and the United States, built after decades of bitterness over Washington's support of India's adversaries like Pakistan.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Experience More, for example, includes Netflix and Apple TV+, in-flight Wi-Fi, and 60GB of hotspot data for $140 per month with three lines on AutoPay—about $50 less than competitors.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
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Dell Technologies’ ObjectScale and NetApp’s StorageGRID are the closest competitors.—
Steve McDowell,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Opponents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opponents. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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