as in overcomes
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 losses
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 collapses
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
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Recent Examples of defeats
Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Learning from losing Anthony Edwards is stealing the superpowers of whoever defeats him.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
The only defeats the Raiders have this year were at the prestigious Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas just before Christmas, the second out-of-state trip the team took in December following a weekend jaunt to Arizona for a couple of games earlier in the month.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2026
South Carroll defeats Rising Sun in the Class 1A final during the 2026 MPSSAA Dual Wrestling State Championships at North Point High School on Saturday, Feb 14.
—Brian T. Krista, Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb. 2026
Gold Coast League co-champions Brentwood and Crossroads have already met twice and could meet a third time in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs if Brentwood defeats Fairmont Prep and Crossroads defeats Long Beach Poly.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
And that defeats the entire purpose of the change.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
If New England defeats Buffalo on Sunday, the Patriots will clinch the AFC East title for the first time since 2019.
—CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
If that happens and San Diego State defeats New Mexico, Boise State would play at SDSU in the title game, with the winner heading to the LA Bowl.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 26 Nov. 2025
Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
Potter replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson after the country finished bottom of a World Cup qualifying group involving Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia with a record of two draws and four defeats.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Ilya Mikheyev also scored for Chicago, which ended its four-game trip with a third-straight loss after resounding defeats to the Flyers and Rangers.
—CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
The Comets entered the final weekend hopeful to win the MASL Shield, but a pair of overtime defeats to the San Diego Sockers took the wind out of their sails.
—Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
Vegas for the first time will finish a season with more defeats than victories.
—ABC News, 29 Mar. 2026
In the wake of Republican defeats in a string of special elections − including a Democratic victory in the Florida state house race to represent the president's home district − the record-setting protests were one more omen of upheaval ahead in November's midterm elections.
—Susan Page, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
Two of America’s largest tech companies suffered stunning defeats in court this week, sustaining early jolts in what could prove to be a seismic shift in how social media operates amid a new landscape of legal risk.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
Meta had the worst week in the group, dropping more than 11% after two stinging court defeats added to the social media company's challenges.
—Ari Levy, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
If Mexico defeats Italy, they are guaranteed to move on, leaving the final spot between Team USA and Italy.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Learning from losing Anthony Edwards is stealing the superpowers of whoever defeats him.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
The only defeats the Raiders have this year were at the prestigious Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas just before Christmas, the second out-of-state trip the team took in December following a weekend jaunt to Arizona for a couple of games earlier in the month.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2026
South Carroll defeats Rising Sun in the Class 1A final during the 2026 MPSSAA Dual Wrestling State Championships at North Point High School on Saturday, Feb 14.
—Brian T. Krista, Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb. 2026
Gold Coast League co-champions Brentwood and Crossroads have already met twice and could meet a third time in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs if Brentwood defeats Fairmont Prep and Crossroads defeats Long Beach Poly.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
And that defeats the entire purpose of the change.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
If New England defeats Buffalo on Sunday, the Patriots will clinch the AFC East title for the first time since 2019.
—CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
If that happens and San Diego State defeats New Mexico, Boise State would play at SDSU in the title game, with the winner heading to the LA Bowl.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 26 Nov. 2025
Noun
Incumbent presidents generally don’t fare well in the mid-term elections, but Trump’s defeats could hand Democrats power to run Congress and impeach him again.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
Potter replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson after the country finished bottom of a World Cup qualifying group involving Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia with a record of two draws and four defeats.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Ilya Mikheyev also scored for Chicago, which ended its four-game trip with a third-straight loss after resounding defeats to the Flyers and Rangers.
—CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
The Comets entered the final weekend hopeful to win the MASL Shield, but a pair of overtime defeats to the San Diego Sockers took the wind out of their sails.
—Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
Vegas for the first time will finish a season with more defeats than victories.
—ABC News, 29 Mar. 2026
In the wake of Republican defeats in a string of special elections − including a Democratic victory in the Florida state house race to represent the president's home district − the record-setting protests were one more omen of upheaval ahead in November's midterm elections.
—Susan Page, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
Two of America’s largest tech companies suffered stunning defeats in court this week, sustaining early jolts in what could prove to be a seismic shift in how social media operates amid a new landscape of legal risk.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
Meta had the worst week in the group, dropping more than 11% after two stinging court defeats added to the social media company's challenges.
—Ari Levy, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defeats
Verb
-
Leo consistently overcomes challenges such as low light, rapid movement, and split second moments to produce sharp, compelling images.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
-
LithSonic overcomes this challenge by using supersonic flow, similar to the conditions inside a rocket engine, to achieve ultra-rapid cooling through a process known as shock quenching.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The analysis, released Friday by the California Department of Insurance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, found that meeting wildfire safety standards for roughly 30,000 homes within the Eaton and Pacific Palisades burn areas would significantly cut average annual losses.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Corona del Mar’s boys volleyball team recently suffered a couple of losses in the Sunset League.—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
These are firms that have survived recessions, world wars, colonial collapses, and technological revolutions.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
-
But fears spiked at the end of last year after the high-profile collapses of First Brands, an auto parts manufacturer, and Tricolor, a subprime auto lender, called attention to significant fraud and weakness in the sector.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The future belongs to the developer who masters the ability to break down human expertise into reusable agent skills.—
Mohith Shrivastava,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Kravitz masters the concept of blending genres, mixing crystal light fixtures and an exceptionally rare $45,000 leather panel bed with artisanal pieces and textures in his bedding and rugs.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Of those seven losses, setbacks against Dallas and Chicago (while both were still trying to win) and Milwaukee could at least be rationalized.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Despite these very public setbacks, the U-2 became a hidden success story and a major player during the Cold War.—
David Szondy
March 29,
New Atlas,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
When a series of tragic failures at New Era Community Health Center left scores of the county’s weakest, poorest and most erratic residents in danger, Florida health inspectors took the unusual step of threatening to shut down the home.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
In 2023, the number dropped significantly, even as supervision failures within jails persisted, down to 63.—
Ryan Oehrli
April 1,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Enraged, Misha's boyfriend barrels across the room and beats Charlie up, and Emma flees the banquet hall.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
But nothing beats their monthly visits to the High Museum of Art in Midtown Atlanta.—
Monique John,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Prosecutors said the beatings intensified after Nantwi bit a guard’s hand.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
In Aden alone, the count is in the hundreds — most of them swallowed by a secret prison network managed by the UAE and its affiliated forces, where torture, beatings and abuse were common, according to the Yemeni government, human rights organizations and the United Nations.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defeats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defeats. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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