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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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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
-
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
-
Dealing with internal conflicts of identity while being threatened by external enemies is not unique to Israel.—
Ron Scherf,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
-
In the scope of housework, hard water stains are high on the list of public enemies in my home.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
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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In the case of merchant AI chips, that's Nvidia thanks in large part to a massive software ecosystem that serves as a competitive moat against other competitors like AMD.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
8 Sep. 2025
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The company was losing bids because their competitors weren’t including that low-value, unwanted work in their quotes.—
Adam Coffey,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Opponents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opponents. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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