Meaning & use
go against
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verb
To act in a way that conflicts with a rule, belief, wish or expectation.
Grammar: Needs an object: go against the rules. The object is usually an idea, not a person.
Patterns
- go against something
- go against your better judgment
Cheating would go against everything I believe in.
He went against his doctor's advice and returned to work early.
The decision goes against the company's own policy.
phrasephrasal verb
To oppose or defy someone, especially by choosing a different path from what they want.
Grammar: Takes a person as object: go against your parents.
Patterns
- go against someone
She went against her parents and chose to study art.
No one dared go against the manager in meetings.
Voters sometimes go against their own party.
phrasephrasal verb
To turn out badly for someone, as when a judgment, vote or luck is not in their favor.
Grammar: The subject is the event: the ruling went against us.
Patterns
- something goes against someone
The verdict went against the defendant.
Luck went against us in the final minutes.
If the vote goes against him, he will resign.
Word forms
| third person singular | goes against |
|---|---|
| past tense | went against |
| past participle | gone against |
| -ing form | going against |
Common combinations
- go against the grain
- Honesty about mistakes can go against the grain in some offices.
- go against your instincts
- I went against my instincts and accepted the offer.
- go against the rules
- Taking the exam home goes against the rules.
- go against advice
- They went against expert advice and built by the river.
- go against the tide
- The band went against the tide and kept making acoustic music.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contradict
- Contradict stresses saying or being the opposite of something stated, while go against involves acting or deciding.
- defy
- Defy is stronger and suggests open challenge to authority, where go against may be quiet.
- violate
- Violate is formal and applies to rules and laws, not to feelings or advice.
- oppose
- Oppose focuses on being on the other side in an argument, not on acting in conflict with an idea.
Opposites
Word family
- against preposition
- in opposition to something
- going against phrase
- the act of conflicting with or defying
- go along with phrase
- to agree or follow without objecting
Commonly confused: go against or go after?
go against vs go after
Go after means to chase or pursue something or someone, which is quite different from opposing it.
Practice
Using that data in the report would ______ the privacy policy we promised to follow.
Choose one answer.
Go against means conflict with a rule or promise. Go with means match or accompany, which is the opposite idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “go against”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.