as in to overcome
to achieve a victory over
they defeated their archrivals easily and moved into the next round of the play-offs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in loss
failure to win a contest
sore losers still griping about their defeat in the basketball game earlier that week
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in collapse
a falling short of one's goals
truly disheartened by the defeat of his plans to revitalize downtown
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of defeat
Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 July 2025
Sinner defeated Djokovic, the all-time leader in career Grand Slams, in the semifinals in straight sets to advance to the final, while Alcaraz emerged victorious in four sets over Taylor Fritz during his semifinal match.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 July 2025
Roosevelt engineered the economy’s rescue from the Great Depression, created the safety net with ground-breaking measures like Social Security and successfully managed the defeat of German and Japanese aggressors in World War II.
—Carl Leubsdorf, Mercury News, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for defeat
Verb
The billionaires will spend endlessly to defeat him.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 July 2025
Sinner defeated Djokovic, the all-time leader in career Grand Slams, in the semifinals in straight sets to advance to the final, while Alcaraz emerged victorious in four sets over Taylor Fritz during his semifinal match.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
Noun
Spain simply needed to avoid defeat, which was briefly on the cards when Elisabetta Oliviero opened the scoring against the run of play.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 July 2025
Roosevelt engineered the economy’s rescue from the Great Depression, created the safety net with ground-breaking measures like Social Security and successfully managed the defeat of German and Japanese aggressors in World War II.
—Carl Leubsdorf, Mercury News, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for defeat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeat
Verb
-
Judicial confirmations were once a slower, more contentious process, often requiring 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
14 July 2025
-
Becky Lynch overcame Lyra Valkyria and Bayley to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship in what was possibly the match of the night.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
-
Analysts predict further job losses in the auto industry if the tariff policy continues.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
Freep.com,
26 July 2025
-
Now, with the Airbnb officially canceled, Friend A insisted she should be held fully responsible for the loss.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
26 July 2025
Noun
-
Metallica famously initiated the landmark lawsuit against peer-to-peer file sharing company Napster in 2000, which led to further suits that ultimately caused the company's initial collapse.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 July 2025
-
The idea of cutting any deal with Maduro is political dynamite in Florida, where more than 350,000 Venezuelan Americans have made their homes and where emotions over Venezuela’s collapse on the hands of the Maduro regime run deep.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
13 July 2025
Verb
-
Common roof framing is a true skill, and each day, there are fewer carpenters who have mastered it.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
19 July 2025
-
In an era where scaling speed often determines market success, the companies that master front-line first hiring may find a scaling edge when growing or entering new markets.—
Charles Towers-Clark,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
Noun
-
Yet no lawyer had previously brought up the rapes and beatings that Bell witnessed during his stay at Dozier, Brown and Martin said.—
The Marshall Project,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
-
In Chicago, the closest parallel to the racial attacks in 1980s New York was the 1997 Bridgeport attack on Lenard Clark, a Black 13-year-old, by a group of teenagers including Frank Caruso Jr., who was convicted of the beating but ultimately forced to serve only two years of an eight-year sentence.—
Robert Chiarito,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
Noun
-
But all of that absolves Luzardo from a basic failure.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
-
Critics of the strikes jumped at the opportunity to call the operation a failure, but the DIA’s product should ...—
NR Editors,
National Review,
24 July 2025
Verb
-
According to the New York Times, this thoroughly beats the area’s previous record of 1.47 inches, set in 1908.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
-
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images JPMorgan Chase beat Wall Street’s expectations for the second quarter on Tuesday, reporting earnings of $5.24 a share and $45.68 billion in revenue during the period.—
Josephine Rozzelle,
CNBC,
15 July 2025
Noun
-
Finding the liberal Joe Rogan became high-dollar Democrats’ white whale after losing the 2024 presidential election, but this week, the party suffered setbacks with two reliable media mouthpieces.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
18 July 2025
-
The world’s children need our support now more than ever Despite this enormous setback, UNICEF's work for children does not stop now — especially given this time of unprecedented need.—
Sarah Ferguson,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeat. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share