opposes

verb

present tense third-person singular of oppose
1
as in resists
to refuse to give in to I will continue to oppose any attempts to infringe upon our civil liberties

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in combats
to strive to reduce or eliminate we must oppose ignorance and prejudice wherever and whenever they arise

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 opposes The museum opposes an attempt by the Jewish Federation-Council of Greater Los Angeles and its board chair Daniel Gryczman, who sued in September for the return of Lucas Cranach the Elder’s 16th-century diptych painting Adam and Eve. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Doody, a former radio host, also supports school choice and opposes a millionaire tax, two notches in his favor. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026 The California Democratic Party opposes the measure, but many of its leading officials have stayed silent. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026 The Moon in your sign opposes Uranus, making other people’s reactions or plans feel especially unpredictable. — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026 James Torres, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance neighborhood group, fought the PAMM sign and opposes the Arsht proposal, too. — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026 Austin Scott opposes Pete Hegseth’s plan for a public execution. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 12 Oct. 2026 Vanessa Martin, who relies on the Metromover, strongly opposes charging for the service. — Manuel Bojorquez, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026 The president approved the method of execution earlier this week and suggested that Talarico opposes it. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opposes
  1. resists
  2. combats
  3. fights
  4. confronts
  5. counters
Verb
  • The shampoo nourishes the scalp with panthenol and niacinamide, while the conditioner fortifies strands with lipids for thicker-looking hair that resists breakage.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The film became the company’s most internationally visible production, but Chavezmontes resists defining Piano by a single title or genre.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of resists
Verb
  • FinCEN is the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which combats money laundering, illicit financial activities and terrorist financing networks around the world.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026
  • How Wisconsin combats loneliness Sampson said re-establishing connection to other people can often be a trial-and-error process.
    — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of combats
Verb
  • Thomas superspeeds Katerina to safety and Vision fights Butcherbird, but Butcherbird is faster and stronger.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Water shortages do not often get attention from state lawmakers, and fights over resources can pit rural landowners against cities.
    — Lexi Salazar, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of fights
Verb
  • Seyfried confronts Evans Things turn ugly during that same visit to Evans’ home.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Junhee’s sister confronts Donghwa outright about the foolishness of not taking money from his father.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of confronts
Verb
  • The company counters by sending fake cops to Vik’s apartment, searching for (and finding) ketamine.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • While Lenovo's excellent ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 is more than half a pound lighter, Dell counters with stronger performance, greater configurability, and even longer unplugged life.
    — Charles Jefferies, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of counters

Browse Nearby Words

opposed
opposes
opposing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Opposes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opposes. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of puissant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All