Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use against in a sentence

40 example sentences · preposition, conjunction

Against means in a contrary direction to. Example: “It is hard work to swim against the current.”

Examples of against by meaning

prepositionIn a contrary direction to.

  • It is hard work to swim against the current.

prepositionIn physical opposition to; in collision with.

  • The rain pounds against the window.
  • Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house ; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something ; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.1922, Michael Arlen, “3/19/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days

prepositionIn physical contact with, so as to abut or be supported by.

  • The ladder was leaning against the wall.
  • The puppy rested its head against a paw.
  • The kennel was put against the back wall.

prepositionClose to, alongside.

  • A row of trees stood against a fence.

prepositionIn front of; before (a background).

  • The giant was silhouetted against the door.

prepositionIn contrast or comparison with.

  • He stands out against his classmates.
  • This report sets out the risks against the benefits.
  • There is an awesome authenticity in Barrus's voice which, I imagine, is frightening to those who must evaluate art against a one-dimensional standard of political rectitude.1986 February 15, Lars Eighner, “A Homosexual Norman Mailer?”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 31, page 5

prepositionIn competition with, versus.

  • The Tigers will play against the Bears this weekend.
  • The breakthrough came through Torres who, pilloried for his miss against Manchester United a week earlier, scored his second goal of the season.2011 September 24, Aled Williams, “Chelsea 4-1 Swansea”, in BBC Sport

prepositionContrary to; in conflict with.

  • Doing this is against my principles.
  • It is against the law to smoke on these premises.
  • There was no car in sight so we crossed against the red light.

More sentences with against

  • We are having a difficult time making head against this wind.From the entry head
  • While reading her book, Sally leaned back against her husband, wishing it were the human kind.From the entry husband
  • Work is done against friction to drag a bag along the ground.From the entry work
  • Aspirin is a drug that reduces pain, acts against inflammation and lowers body temperature.From the entry drug
  • I can’t believe that, after all our advice against gambling, you walked into that casino!From the entry after
  • Rogue cancels and supersedes are being issued on a large scale against posters.From the entry supersede
  • Are you ready to pit your wits against one of the world's greatest puzzles?From the entry pit
  • The government warned bus operators against continuing to show bold content on buses.From the entry bold
  • The United States enacted a new round of sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa.From the entry sanction
  • I went to watch our school football match against Puddletown High. We lost 2-0.From the entry we
  • The cultural struggle is for the survival of family values against all manner of atheistic amorality.From the entry family
  • The interrogator hoped to break her to get her testimony against her accomplices.From the entry break
  • He tried to get over it, but he burned for revenge against those who wronged him.From the entry burn
  • The applicant now seeks leave to appeal and, if leave be granted, to appeal against these sentences.From the entry leave
  • As a Christian, I think this is a sin against God.From the entry sin
  • That seems like a bad idea put against the restrictions we're working under.From the entry put
  • We're trying to find somebody to run against him next year.From the entry run
  • I’m set against the idea of smacking children to punish them.From the entry set
  • The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.From the entry thought
  • The victim was able to enforce his evidence against the alleged perpetrator.From the entry enforce
  • In his anger he pushed me against the wall and threatened me.From the entry push
  • Democracy must balance the rights of the few against the will of the many.From the entry many
  • If you take my advice, you'll file a suit against him immediately.From the entry suit
  • Most western countries have repealed laws against homosexual activity between consenting adults.From the entry homosexual

Meaning of against

  1. preposition In a contrary direction to.
  2. preposition In physical opposition to; in collision with.
  3. preposition In physical contact with, so as to abut or be supported by.

Full definition of against

Questions about against in a sentence

How do you use against in a sentence?
Against is used as a preposition and conjunction. For example: “It is hard work to swim against the current.”
What is a short sentence with against?
“Doing this is against my principles.”
What does against mean?
Against means in a contrary direction to.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: against (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use against in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/against. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.