Meaning & use
opponent
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person or team that you play or compete against in a game, contest, or election.
Grammar: Often followed by in or of: an opponent in the final.
Patterns
- an opponent in something
- face an opponent
- defeat an opponent
The tennis player shook hands with her opponent after the match.
He easily beat his opponent in the election.
Our next opponent is the league leader.
nouncountable
Someone who disagrees with an idea, policy, or plan and speaks or acts against it.
Grammar: Usually followed by of: an opponent of the plan.
Patterns
- an opponent of something
She is a strong opponent of the new tax.
Opponents of the dam gathered outside city hall.
The senator has long been an opponent of nuclear power.
Word forms
| plural | opponents |
|---|
Common combinations
- worthy opponent
- The champion called him a worthy opponent.
- political opponent
- The mayor accused a political opponent of spreading rumors.
- face an opponent
- She will face a tough opponent in the semifinal.
- defeat an opponent
- He managed to defeat his opponent in straight sets.
- outspoken opponent
- He is an outspoken opponent of the plan.
- opponent of
- They are opponents of the new rules.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rival
- A rival competes with you over a longer time or for the same goal, often with personal feeling, while an opponent may be a one-off.
- adversary
- Adversary is more formal and suggests serious conflict rather than a game.
- enemy
- Enemy implies hostility, while an opponent can be a friendly rival.
- challenger
- A challenger is the one who tries to take a title or position from the holder.
Opposites
Word family
- oppose verb
- to be against something or someone
- opposition noun
- disagreement, or the side that is against
- opposing adjective
- on the other side
- opposite adjective
- completely different or facing
Commonly confused: opponent or proponent?
opponent vs proponent
A proponent supports an idea, while an opponent is against it; the two differ by only a couple of letters but mean opposite things.
Practice
She is a fierce ______ of the plan to close the library.
Choose one answer.
An opponent is someone against something. A proponent supports it, which would reverse the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “opponent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.