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
Donalds’ opponents have repeatedly tried to knock him for supporting the expansion of AI data centers in the state.
—
Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 1 June 2026
Up until the issuing of the judge’s temporary restraining order, many of its opponents described feeling helpless about a project that, in their eyes, had an air of inevitability.
—Matthew Stolle, Twin Cities, 1 June 2026
Courtside, before a battle, Osaka’s deep colorways and the many translucent but somehow impenetrable layers of the vast floor-dragging skirt work as armor inspiring stone-cold dread in all prospective opponents.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
It should be noted that in their 11-game win streak through the middle two rounds of the playoffs, the Knicks outscored opponents by 262 points, more than any team in any 11-game stretch in NBA history, regular season or postseason.
—Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 1 June 2026
Ossoff and Bottoms are both in a period of waiting as their November opponents have yet to be selected.
—Irene Wright, USA Today, 1 June 2026
The three-loss teams outside of Vannini’s top 12 had conference opponents and rivalry games left to play, yet the results had no bearing on Playoff positioning.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Cortese said opponents should sue if the project moves forward.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 1 June 2026
And quickly, her opponents jumped her as soon as the bell rang.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026
Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 1 June 2026
Up until the issuing of the judge’s temporary restraining order, many of its opponents described feeling helpless about a project that, in their eyes, had an air of inevitability.
—Matthew Stolle, Twin Cities, 1 June 2026
Courtside, before a battle, Osaka’s deep colorways and the many translucent but somehow impenetrable layers of the vast floor-dragging skirt work as armor inspiring stone-cold dread in all prospective opponents.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
It should be noted that in their 11-game win streak through the middle two rounds of the playoffs, the Knicks outscored opponents by 262 points, more than any team in any 11-game stretch in NBA history, regular season or postseason.
—Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 1 June 2026
Ossoff and Bottoms are both in a period of waiting as their November opponents have yet to be selected.
—Irene Wright, USA Today, 1 June 2026
The three-loss teams outside of Vannini’s top 12 had conference opponents and rivalry games left to play, yet the results had no bearing on Playoff positioning.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Cortese said opponents should sue if the project moves forward.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 1 June 2026
And quickly, her opponents jumped her as soon as the bell rang.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opponents
Noun
-
The dog paces to and fro, hackles bristling, snapping at the empty air, its head turning one way, then the other, as if aware of invisible foes in the valley around them.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Daemon rocks the trailer with blood on his face from sticking his sword into foes.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Hunger and disease are always enemies that accompany war and sometimes can claim more lives than the fighting itself.—
William Lambers,
Hartford Courant,
6 June 2026
-
The big and heavy fights in the new trailer for gen ATLAS (shown below) really remind me of fighting various large enemies in Gigantic Drive.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
During the course of the series so far, the two best teams in baseball had become the bitterest of rivals, the animosity between them fueled by the Cubs’ treatment of their teammate Mark Koenig, a versatile infielder who’d been traded from the Yankees in mid-season.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
James Adams, a political science professor at UC Davis, said that Becerra and Bass coming through indicates the centrist Democratic candidates were in a stronger short-term position than their rivals.—
National Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
Following the release of the shipbuilding plan, Cao took to X to highlight the administration’s efforts to combat US adversaries like China.—
Shelby Talcott,
semafor.com,
3 June 2026
-
Circuit boards present all sorts of opportunities for adversaries to sneak through malicious components.—
Katie Tarasov,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The company’s shares are down 16% year to date as investors worry its businesses are being eaten up by competitors and that Copilot’s user base leaves a lot to be desired.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
2 June 2026
-
While data center hardware has historically been a boom/bust business, the bull case now is that HPE and its competitors have worked to reduce that cyclicality.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Opponents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opponents. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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