opponent

English Online Dictionary. What means opponent‎? What does opponent mean?

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈpəʊnənt/

Noun

opponent (plural opponents)

1. 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.
   1. One who opposes another physically (in a fight, sport, game, or competition).
      • 1720, Alexander Pope, The Iliad of Homer, London: Bernard Lintott, Volume 6, “Observations on the Twenty-Third Book,” no. 39, p. 136,^[1]

        In the Chariot-Race Achilles is represented as being able to conquer every Opponent […]
   2. One who opposes another in words (in a dispute, argument or controversy).
   3. One who is opposed or objects (to a policy, course of action or set of ideas).
   4. (historical) The participant who opens an academic debate by putting forward objections to a theological or philosophical thesis.

Synonyms

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “one who opposes”): supporter, proponent, advocate
• (antonym(s) of “person who opens an academic debate”): respondent

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

opponent (comparative more opponent, superlative most opponent)

1. (obsolete) Opposing; adverse; antagonistic.
2. (obsolete) Situated in front; opposite.

Further reading

• “opponent”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “opponent”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “opponent”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “opponent” (US) / “opponent” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• opponent in Britannica Dictionary
• opponent in Macmillan Collocations Dictionary
• opponent in Sentence collocations by Cambridge Dictionary
• opponent in Ozdic collocation dictionary
• opponent in WordReference English Collocations
• opponent, opposer, detractor, adversary, antagonist at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.

Latin

Verb

oppōnent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of oppōnō