defeat — OAT · Shobdo

defeat

verb

1 the victorious army which defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill:

beat, conquer, win against, win a victory over, triumph over, prevail over, get the better of, best, worst, vanquish;

rout, trounce, overcome, overpower, overthrow, overwhelm, crush, quash, bring someone to their knees;

quell, subjugate, subdue, repulse;

informal lick, thrash, hammer, whip, wipe the floor with, walk all over, give someone a hiding, take to the cleaners, blow out of the water, run rings around, make mincemeat of, clobber, paste, pound, pulverize, crucify, murder, massacre, slaughter, demolish, drub, give someone a drubbing, cane, zap, flatten, turn inside out, tank, pwn;

British, informal stuff, marmalize;

North American, informal blow out, cream, shellac, skunk, slam;

US, informal own.

▷antonyms lose to.

2 budgets should not be so complex that they defeat their purpose:

thwart, block, frustrate, prevent, foil, balk, ruin, put a stop to, scotch, obviate, forestall, debar, snooker, derail;

obstruct, impede, hinder, hamper, deter, discomfit;

informal put the kibosh on, nip in the bud, put paid to, put the stopper on, do for, stymie;

British, informal scupper, put the mockers on, nobble.

▷antonyms advance, assist.

3 the motion was defeated:

reject, overthrow, throw out, dismiss, outvote, spurn, rebuff, turn down;

informal give the thumbs down.

▷antonyms pass.

4 I managed to fit to the machine, but how to make it work defeats me:

baffle, puzzle, perplex, bewilder, mystify, bemuse, confuse, confound, frustrate, nonplus, throw;

informal beat, flummox, discombobulate, faze, stump, fox, be all Greek to.

noun

1 a crippling defeat for the government:

loss, beating, conquest, conquering, besting, worsting, vanquishing, vanquishment, game, set, and match;

rout, trouncing, overpowering, subjugation, subduing;

reverse, debacle, downfall;

informal thrashing, hiding, drubbing, licking, hammering, whipping, clobbering, pasting, pounding, pulverizing, massacre, slaughter, demolition, caning, flattening, pwnage;

US, informal ownage.

▷antonyms victory.

2 the defeat of his plans:

failure, downfall, breakdown, collapse, ruin, lack of success, discomfiture, rejection, frustration, foundering, misfiring, overthrow;

undoing, reverse;

disappointment, setback.

▷antonyms success.