Synonyms for Adversary
ad·ver·sa·ry

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. adversary

   An enemy in private life is one who is moved by hostile feeling with active disposition to injure; but in military language all who fight on the opposite side are called enemies or collectively "the enemy," where no personal animosity may be implied; foe, which is rather a poetical and literary word, implies intensely hostile spirit and purpose. An antagonist is one who opposes and is opposed actively and with intensity of effort; an opponent, one in whom the attitude of resistance is the more prominent; a competitor, one who seeks the same object for which another is striving; antagonists in wrestling, competitors in business, opponents in debate may contend with no personal ill will; rivals in love, ambition, etc., rarely avoid inimical feeling. Adversary was formerly much used in the general sense of antagonist or opponent, but is now less common, and largely restricted to the hostile sense; an adversary is ordinarily one who not only opposes another in fact, but does so with hostile spirit, or perhaps out of pure malignity; as, the great Adversary. Compare synonyms for AMBITION.

   Synonyms:
   antagonist, competitor, enemy, foe, opponent, rival

   Antonyms:
   abettor, accessory, accomplice, ally, friend, helper, supporter

   Preposition:
   He was the enemy of my friend in the contest.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. adversary

   Synonyms:
   antagonist, foe, enemy, rival, assailant

   Antonyms:
   accessory, abettor, alder, friend, helper, assistant, ally, accomplice

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.3 / 4 votes

1. adversary, antagonist, opponent, opposer, resisternoun

   someone who offers opposition

   Synonyms:
   obstructionist, opposer, obstructer, obstructor, opposite, antagonist, adversary, opposition, opponent, thwarter, resister

Matched Categories

1. • Person

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. adversarynoun

   Synonyms:
   enemy, foe, antagonist, opponent, adverse party

2. adversarynoun

   Synonyms:
   DEVIL, satan

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. adversarynoun

   Synonyms:
   enemy, foe, antagonist, opponent

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:1.0 / 1 vote

1. List of paraphrases for "adversary":

   opponent, enemy, foe, intruder, rival

Suggested Resources

1. adversary

   Song lyrics by adversary -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by adversary on the Lyrics.com website.

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How to use Adversary in a sentence?

1. The NATO chief:

   Under the Washington Treaty, Article Five, an attack on one will be regarded as an attack on all, cyberattacks can trigger Article Five, but we have never gone into the position where we give a potential adversary the privilege of defining exactly when we trigger Article Five.

2. Masha Gessen:

   There's a really aggressive posture to both men. Putin respects fighters and he respects aggression and he doesn't respect sort of calm and deliberation, he wants a manly adversary. He wants somebody he can understand.

3. Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta:

   We have never in the history of our country been in a situation where an adversary, a foreign power, is working so hard to influence the outcome of the election, and believe me, they’re not doing it to get me elected. They’re doing it to try to influence the election for Donald Trump.

4. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi:

   We don't agree on everything naturally, but we believe together that fighting unemployment today in Europe means combating populism. We have the same adversary: Populism.

5. James Comey:

   To my mind it crosses a line when it moves from being about trying to educate a public and instead just becomes about intelligence porn, frankly, just pushing out information about sources and methods without regard to interest, without regard to the First Amendment values that normally underlie press reporting, and simply becomes a conduit for the Russian intelligence services or some other adversary of the United States.