ADVERSARIAL Synonyms: 105 Similar and Opposite Words

adversarial

adjective

ˌad-vər-ˈser-ē-əl

Definition of adversarial

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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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 adversarial Minors shouldn’t face adversarial hearings, says Andrew Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies and former immigration judge. — Sarah Matusek, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2026 And so these interviews, that these asylum officers conduct, gives the applicant a place to explain those and talk through them in, again, that non-adversarial environment. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026 The pilot sets up interesting tensions between Duke and surrogate father Kingsley and a livelier adversarial role for Pinnock, but Kingsley is gone for the majority of the six episodes (out of eight) sent to critics and Pinnock’s absence is felt. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026 The goal was to find and fix the vulnerabilities before hackers and adversarial governments like China began using similar tools to find and exploit them for espionage and sabotage. — Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for adversarial

Recent Examples of Synonyms for adversarial

Adjective

Forecasters said the system is expected to be short-lived because of hostile environmental conditions starting on Friday that will prevent it from developing further.

— Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Electronic warfare systems such as NGJ-MB are carried by aircraft and use advanced electronics to interfere with or counter hostile electromagnetic systems.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of hostile

Adjective

Arjun Bhatia, an analyst at William Blair who recommends buying Salesforce shares, said investors who turned negative on cloud software companies or eliminated their exposure altogether due to AI concerns, are starting to come back.

— Jordan Novet, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Much like Big Tobacco was forced to admit that cigarettes can cause cancer or Purdue Pharma was forced to stop downplaying the risks of OxyContin, this agreement now puts Meta’s core products in a negative light.

— Diane Brady, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of negative

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ad verbum

adversarial

adversaries

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“Adversarial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adversarial. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of adversarial

adjective

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