opposing 1 of 2

adjective

as in opposite

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

opposing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of oppose
1
as in resisting
to refuse to give in to I will continue to oppose any attempts to infringe upon our civil liberties

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fighting
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 opposing
Adjective
The Jazz didn’t play a highlight reel during the game to welcome the center back, as many teams often do for a player who returns on an opposing team. — Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026 Skattebo found a crease, lowered his helmet and ran over an opposing defender. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026 About Estrogen Skin Care There are two main (and opposing) concerns about this new spate of estrogen skin-care products. — Ashley Abramson, Allure, 22 Oct. 2026 For vote buying to work, the value of the benefits people receive has to outweigh the factors pushing them toward an opposing party. — Kenneth Greene, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026 The foursome fret and fuss over one another, mostly because of their opposing political views. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026 Its use during the exercise simulated an attack against an opposing naval force. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026 Splitter praises his movement on and off the ball, which seems to visibly confuse opposing defenses. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 17 Oct. 2026 Regardless of any statistics, the defense has accomplished its end goal each and every week this season — and that’s allowing fewer points than the opposing team has scored every single time. — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
But, that doesn’t mean companies need to sacrifice and give into the pressure of opposing conference games in order to get the better rating. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026 Powered by a defensive unit that tallied three takeaways, four sacks and limited the opposing offense to 156 yards, UCLA earned its seventh win of the season Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl, trouncing Michigan State 28-10. — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026 There charged Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who had already shoved his way into the opposing backfield, twisting an offensive lineman completely around before tackling Las Vegas running back Ashton Jeanty for a loss. — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026 Though opposing armies suffered heavy losses, neither made any significant territorial gains. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026 After previously opposing the proposal, Bolsonaro reversed course and voted in favor. — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026 Under Sorrells, attorneys representing the state often rely on equally inexperienced colleagues or, in some instances, opposing counsel, for training, sources said. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2026 With opposing defenses likely to devote more attention to Anderson, Kohl emphasized the importance of getting other playmakers involved. — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 The two sides have been involved in opposing legal actions over contractual control, outside collaborations, releases, touring agreements, royalties and creative independence. — Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 18 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opposing
  1. opposite
  2. resisting
  3. fighting
  4. antagonistic
  5. combating
  6. contradictory
  7. countering
  8. irreconcilable
Adjective
  • In conference rooms and attempts at collective action alike, these two opposite ends of the supply chain often have different agendas and different ideas of success, and many speak different languages — literally and figuratively.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Researchers have used this tool, known as a feeling thermometer, for decades to measure how Americans feel about different groups, including people of color, gay and lesbian people and members of the opposite political party.
    — Jesse Rhodes, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of opposite
Verb
  • There never was a better moment for a movement aimed at resisting fascism, preventing war and eliminating poverty at home.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The officer also alleges Bowman continued resisting after the taser was used, before eventually complying.
    — Shelley Bortz, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of resisting
Verb
  • The discovery raises the possibility of a grim outcome in the search for the four men, which has led to El Salvador deploying 450 special forces soldiers to Haiti as of Friday to aid the gang-fighting force in the search.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The whole idea is for Israel to keep fighting, because endless wars serve Netanyahu to maintain… a constant state of emergency.
    — Daniel Estrin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of fighting
Adjective
  • In big cities, people like this tend to pay rent, which often puts them—to borrow some Marxist terminology—in an antagonistic relationship with the local petite bourgeoisie.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
  • To MacArthur, solitary reading was antagonistic to the Army’s aims.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of antagonistic
Verb
  • Candidates may spend more of their time combatting misinformation as opposed to sharing their platform, Ridout said.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Unions can also be powerful tools for combating racial pay discrimination; the new report shows tripling union membership would narrow the racial wage gap by more than a third.
    — Liz Shuler, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of combating
Adjective
  • Multiple companies now offer products that promise to spot the difference, with often contradictory, biased or erratic results.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Once a false or contradictory version starts moving, a company is no longer explaining what happened.
    — Ronn Torossian, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of contradictory
Verb
  • Republicans' ace in the hole While Democratic candidates dominate direct donations, Republicans are countering with overwhelming outside spending.
    — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Tens of thousands of drones have been launched in the wars in Gaza, Iran, and Ukraine, and countering them is costly, imprecise, and dangerous, with defensive missiles leading to all manner of falling debris.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of countering
Adjective
  • That’s where the chaos begins, in this collision of irreconcilable languages, where everyone claims to speak on behalf of everyone else.
    — Ollivier Pourriol, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The rift proved irreconcilable enough to prompt the 62-year-old author to declare a divorce from television on a 2024 podcast.
    — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of irreconcilable

Browse Nearby Words

opposes
opposing
opposite
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Opposing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opposing. Accessed 27 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 milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'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

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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