opponent

/əˈpəʊ.nənt/

opponent noun: one who opposes another; one who works or takes a position against someone or something; one who attempts to stop the progress of someone or something.

Noun

opponent (plural opponents)

One who opposes another; one who works or takes a position against someone or something; one who attempts to stop the progress of someone or something.
- The person who ran against her in the last election proved to be a formidable opponent.
- During the crackdown, many opponents of the regime were arrested.
Synonyms:

opp
1. One who opposes another physically (in a fight, sport, game, or competition).
  - In the Chariot-Race Achilles is represented as being able to conquer every Opponent […]1720, Alexander Pope, The Iliad of Homer, London: Bernard Lintott, Volume 6, “Observations on the Twenty-Third Book,” no. 39, p. 136
  - […] he slid his right hand down to his left, and with the full swing of the weapon struck his opponent on the left side of the head, who instantly measured his length upon the green sward.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, “[HTTP://WWW.GUTENBERG.ORG/FILES/82/82-H/82-H.HTM CHAPTER 11]”, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh...
2. One who opposes another in words (in a dispute, argument or controversy).
  - It is easier to confound than to convince an opponent; the former may be effected by a turn that has more happiness than truth in it.1777, Hannah More, “Thoughts on Conversation”, in Essays on Various Subjects, London: J. Wilkie and T. Cadell, page 54
  - “What more have you to say?” she asked, rather in the tone in which a person might address an opponent of adult age than such as is ordinarily used to a child.1847, Charlotte Brontë, chapter 4, in Jane Eyre
3. One who is opposed or objects (to a policy, course of action or set of ideas).
  - She was a dedicated opponent of the death penalty.
  - Their Oath is to maintain the Romish-Catholick Religion, and persecute all Opponents to it.1652, Peter Heylin, Cosmographie, London: Henry Seile, Book 1, Part 20, p. 205
4. (historical) The participant who opens an academic debate by putting forward objections to a theological or philosophical thesis.
  - We make the argument appere slender, when we receiue it laughyngly, and declare by wordes, euen at the first, that it is nothyng to the purpose, and so abashe the opponent.1551, Thomas Wilson, “The maner of confutacion twoo waies considered”, in The Rule of Reason, conteinyng the Arte of Logique, London
  - […] diuinitie disputations, in all which those learned opponents, respondents, & moderators, quited themselues like themselues, sharplie and soundlie, besides all other solemne sermons & lectures.1587, Raphael Holinshed et al., “The Continvation of the chronicles of England from the yeare of our Lord 1576, to this present yeare 1586, &c.”, in The First and Second Volumes of Chronicles...

Adjective

opponent (comparative more opponent, superlative most opponent)

(obsolete) Opposing; adverse; antagonistic.
- […] we are to consider enemies as men opponent to peace and justice, and to these they are by warrs to be reduced; And no other ends in the pursuite of enemies by sword and hostile Acts are to be sought for […]1647, Francis Bland, The Souldiers March to Salvation, York, page 25
- Young Ithacus advanc’d, defies the foe,
  Poising his lifted lance in act to throw:
  The savage renders vain the wound decreed,
  And springs impetuous with opponent speed!1726, Elijah Fenton, transl., The Odyssey of Homer, Translated from the Greek by Alexander Pope, London, published 1760, Volume 4, Book 19, lines 524-525, p. 44
(obsolete) Situated in front; opposite.
- Her sympathizing Lover takes his Stand
  High on th’ opponent Bank […]a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 33

opponent meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

opponent in Hindi

one who opposes another: प्रतियोगी pratiyogī, विरोधी virodhī
one who opposes another physically: विरोधी virodhī

opponent in Tamil

எதிரி, பகைவன், எதிராளி

opponent in Urdu

opponent, adversary: مخالف muxālif
opponent: دشمن duśman

opponent in Bengali

opponent, rival: শত্রু śotru

More languagesFewer languages

opponent in Telugu: ప్రత్యర్థి pratyarthi
opponent in Malayalam: എതിരാളി etirāḷi, പ്രതിയോഗി pratiyōgi
opponent in Kannada: ಎದುರಾಳಿ, ಎದುರಿ, ಮಾರಡಿ, ಮರ‍್ಮ
opponent in Gujarati: શત્રુ śatru
opponent in Sanskrit: विपक्ष vipakṣa
opponent in Arabic: مُنَاوِئ munāwiʔ, خَصْم ḵaṣm
opponent in Thai: คู่ต่อสู้, ผู้คัดค้าน

Examples of opponent in a sentence

[…] it is possible for a good [draughts] player to defeat an opponent without capturing his pieces.1958, Graham Greene, Our Man in Havana, New York: Pocket Books, published 1974, Part 5, Chapter 5, p. 196:
[…] this untoward Method allows him who is the Respondent, to prevaricate from his Duty, and turn Opponent: Which confounds those two Offices, and perverts all the Laws of Reasoning or Discoursing.1700, John Sergeant, Transnatural Philosophy, London, Book 3, Chapter 1, p. 276:
The reasons you have urged are indeed weighty: yet they have never made an impression so deep upon my mind, as not to take flight, and leave their opponent arguments in some sort the victors.1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, London: Shepperson and Reynolds, Volume 4, Letter 64, p. 53:
On the contrary, they are more earnestly attached to truth, and more opponent to sin than others […]1828, Stephen Drew, Principles of Self-Knowledge, London: Longman, Volume 2, Section 23, p. 24:

All 40 example sentences with opponent

Synonyms of opponent

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of opponent

Forms of opponent

Noun
plural	opponents
Adjective
comparative	more opponent
superlative	most opponent

Plural of opponent: opponents

Origin of opponent

Borrowed from Latin oppōnēns (“opposing”), present active participle of oppōnō (“to oppose”).

Words formed from opponent

Phrases with opponent

parties opponent

Questions about opponent

What does opponent mean?: Opponent means one who opposes another; one who works or takes a position against someone or something; one who attempts to stop the progress of someone or something.
What is opponent in Hindi?: Opponent in Hindi is प्रतियोगी (pratiyogī), विरोधी (virodhī). See Opponent meaning in Hindi.
How do you use opponent in a sentence?: […] it is possible for a good [draughts] player to defeat an opponent without capturing his pieces.
What part of speech is opponent?: Opponent can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce opponent?: Opponent is pronounced /əˈpəʊ.nənt/.
What is the plural of opponent?: The plural of opponent is opponents.

Words near opponent in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “opponent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/opponent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.