oppugning

verb

present participle of oppugn
1
as in questioning
to demand proof of the truth or rightness of had the temerity to oppugn the merits of a study in a discipline that he knows nothing about

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opposing
to strive to reduce or eliminate guardians of liberty who staunchly oppugned tyranny, whether from the right or the left

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppugning
  1. questioning
  2. opposing
  3. challenging
  4. fighting
  5. combating
Verb
  • That includes checking a student's phone records and social media posts, going door to door at the student's dorm and questioning school staff and emergency contacts.
    — Sarah Horbacewicz, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • This astonishing gap left competitive automakers and Internet armchair critics questioning whether the Mustang GTD Competition was on street-legal rubber.
    — Joel Feder, The Drive, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of questioning
Verb
  • His greater concern is that even a militarily weak pact could encourage opposing alignments to harden.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, residents are organizing a petition opposing the home and are pushing for the operation to be shut down or relocated.
    — Carmela Karcher, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of opposing
Verb
  • That's what makes this situation with city finances challenging, because public safety is just such a large part of our budget.
    — Jack Fink, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Each El Niño is unique, making precise snow forecasts challenging.
    — Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of challenging
Verb
  • There’s fighting in the streets, along the ramparts, hot oil poured on men climbing ladders.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Numerous other suburban Chicago fire departments assisted in fighting the blaze.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of fighting
Verb
  • The African Union’s Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, adopted in 2014, remains the continent’s main framework for combating cybercrime, but implementation has been uneven.
    — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Lancer drives home the importance of a good skincare regimen—along with nutrition, diet, exercise and sunscreen use—as a key component of combatting signs of aging.
    — Rachel Burchfield, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of combating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

oppugned
oppugning
oppugns
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Oppugning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppugning. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All