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
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of opponents
In New York City, State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral race against high-profile opponents.
—
Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
A number of billionaires collectively spent more than $22 million to back Mamdani’s opponents, according to Forbes.
—Nino Paoli, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
The emphasis on a candidate's identity was particularly heightened in this race -- something that has been embraced by Mamdani's campaign and supporters, but attacked by his opponents.
—Emily Chang, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2025
Kelly was fired after losing three straight games to ranked opponents following a 5-0 start to the season.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Hatch, a political newcomer who works as chief data and analytics officer for the city of Charlotte, outraised her opponents and every other school board candidate in this year’s election.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2025
His Justice Department indicted his political opponents.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2025
At that point, Category 6 opponents argue, there’s little further distinction to be made about just how dire the situation will be.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025
Maranatha Christian won eight in a row and is outscoring its opponents 343-93.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
A number of billionaires collectively spent more than $22 million to back Mamdani’s opponents, according to Forbes.
—Nino Paoli, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
The emphasis on a candidate's identity was particularly heightened in this race -- something that has been embraced by Mamdani's campaign and supporters, but attacked by his opponents.
—Emily Chang, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2025
Kelly was fired after losing three straight games to ranked opponents following a 5-0 start to the season.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Hatch, a political newcomer who works as chief data and analytics officer for the city of Charlotte, outraised her opponents and every other school board candidate in this year’s election.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 2025
His Justice Department indicted his political opponents.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2025
At that point, Category 6 opponents argue, there’s little further distinction to be made about just how dire the situation will be.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2025
Maranatha Christian won eight in a row and is outscoring its opponents 343-93.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opponents
Noun
-
Defeating Lebanon’s Hezbollah, including killing Nasrallah, and bombing Iran’s facilities in June (with Trump sending American warplanes to assist) were widely seen by Israelis as historic victories over the country’s most threatening foes.—
Aluf Benn,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Start the man who has thrown more touchdowns against the Dolphins than his other AFC East foes combined.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
That stark reality forced both sides to wage slash-and-burn propaganda campaigns designed to sow doubt and disinformation among their enemies.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
But he’s considered a centrist Democrat and has attracted political enemies from both the Right and Progressives, the former due to his pro-LBGT policies and the latter due to his support of centrist leaders such as District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Sea’s operating expenses also jumped by 28%, as its e-commerce arm Shopee tries to strengthen its competitive edge of rivals like Alibaba’s Lazada and ByteDance’s TikTok Shop.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
12 Nov. 2025
-
American pasta makers regularly complain that their Italian rivals are underpricing their goods.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Roosevelt used his relationship with the press not just to gain publicity but also to deny it to adversaries.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Both address vulnerabilities that adversaries already exploit—and both have recent, tangible demonstrations that turn theory into operational reality.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Axel Springer laid off 20% of its staff at Business Insider, and has instituted strict spending limits at Politico that have left employees grumbling about the outlet’s inability to match some of the salaries of its competitors.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
10 Nov. 2025
-
There will be some minor differences between ProphetX and prediction market competitors.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Opponents.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opponents. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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