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adversary

noun

Simple meaning

An opponent or rival.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

adversuhree

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈædvɚsɛɹi

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An opponent or rival.

  2. Christianitysometimes Judaism

    The Devil; Satan.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

adversary systemadversary proceedinggreat adversaryadversary processadversary relationshippowerful adversarypotential adversarypolitical adversary

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • adverselyadverbDerived adverb

    In an adverse manner.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.