as in hostile
marked by opposition or ill will
the relationship between the president and the congress should not be adversarial if anything is to get done
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Recent Examples of adversarial
But with both countries facing tariff heat from Washington, could economic challenges push Beijing and New Delhi toward reluctant cooperation, transforming their adversarial relationship?
—
Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
And a lot of it has to do with the failure of journalism and the lack of adversarial journalism that’s asking hard questions — one of the things of the themes of this film is kind of cycles of impunity.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
In January 2024, Darjean filed adversarial proceedings in bankruptcy court, seeking to prevent the judgment from being discharged and accusing Sanders of delaying document production to the trustee.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Already, the state seems to be preparing for an adversarial ruling.
—Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adversarial
Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
And a lot of it has to do with the failure of journalism and the lack of adversarial journalism that’s asking hard questions — one of the things of the themes of this film is kind of cycles of impunity.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
In January 2024, Darjean filed adversarial proceedings in bankruptcy court, seeking to prevent the judgment from being discharged and accusing Sanders of delaying document production to the trustee.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Already, the state seems to be preparing for an adversarial ruling.
—Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adversarial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adversarial
Adjective
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Thanks to climate change, Cosmism’s ambivalent and generally hostile attitude towards the natural world should also sound familiar.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
12 Sep. 2025
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Another camera designed to withstand the hostile environment of space was used outside.—
Catherine Muccigrosso,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There is also, generally speaking, universal admission that boy, this game sure runs terribly on PC, leading to a huge number of negative Steam reviews, causing the game to be Mixed there.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Then, there’s the power to see through all of that, through what could be perceived as pain or a negative situation, and see the colorfulness of my culture, the warmth of my culture, and the community, as well.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adversarial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adversarial. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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