Adjacent Words

Against definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AGAINST, prep. agenst'.
1. In opposition; noting enmity or disapprobation.
His hand will be against every man. Genesis 16.
I am against your pillows. Ezek 8.
2. In opposition, noting contrariety, contradiction, or repugnance; as, a decree against law, reason or public opinion.
3. In opposition, noting competition, or different sides or parties; as, there are twenty votes in the affirmative against ten in the negative.
4. In an opposite direction; as, to ride against the wind.
5. Opposite in place; abreast; as, a ship is against the mouth of a river. In this sense it is often preceded by over.
Aaron lighted the lamps over against the candlesticks.
Numbers 8.
6. In opposition, noting adversity, injury, or contrariety to wishes; as, this change of measures is against us.
7. Bearing upon; as, one leans against a wall.
8. In provision for; in preparation for.
Urijah made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus.
2 Kings 16.
In this sense against is a preposition, with the following part of the sentence for an object. See After, prep. def. 2.
In short, the sense of this word is opposition, variously modified according to its application to different objects.

Merriam Webster's

I. preposition Etymology: Middle English, alteration of againes, from again Date: 13th century 1. a. in opposition or hostility to <spoke against his enemies> b. contrary to <against the law> c. in competition with <racing against each other> d. as a basis for disapproval of <had nothing against him> 2. a. directly opposite ; facing <she sat down just over against me — Daniel Defoe> b. obsolete exposed to 3. compared or contrasted with <profits are up against last year> 4. a. in preparation or provision for <saving against an uncertain future> b. as a defense or protection from <a shelter against the cold> 5. a. in the direction of and into contact with <knocked against the ropes> b. in contact with <leaning against the wall> 6. in a direction opposite to the motion or course of ; counter to <sail against the wind> 7. a. as a counterbalance to <weighing risk against profit> b. in exchange for <a lower rate against the dollar> c. as a charge on <charged against her account> 8. before the background of <viewed against the sky> II. conjunction Date: 14th century archaic in preparation for the time when <throw on another log of wood against father comes home — Charles Dickens>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

prep. 1 in opposition to (fight against the invaders; am against hanging; arson is against the law). 2 into collision or in contact with (ran against a rock; lean against the wall; up against a problem). 3 to the disadvantage of (his age is against him). 4 in contrast to (against a dark background; 99 as against 102 yesterday). 5 in anticipation of or preparation for (against his coming; against a rainy day; protected against the cold; warned against pickpockets). 6 as a compensating factor to (income against expenditure). 7 in return for (issued against payment of the fee). Phrases and idioms: against the clock see CLOCK(1) 3. against the grain see GRAIN. against time see TIME. Etymology: ME ayenes etc. f. ayen AGAIN + -t as in amongst: see AMONG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Against A*gainst" (?; 277), prep. [OE. agens, ageynes, AS. ongegn. The s is adverbial, orig. a genitive ending. See Again.] 1. Abreast; opposite to; facing; towards; as, against the mouth of a river; -- in this sense often preceded by over. Jacob saw the angels of God come against him. --Tyndale. 2. From an opposite direction so as to strike or come in contact with; in contact with; upon; as, hail beats against the roof. 3. In opposition to, whether the opposition is of sentiment or of action; on the other side; counter to; in contrariety to; hence, adverse to; as, against reason; against law; to run a race against time. The gate would have been shut against her. --Fielding. An argument against the use of steam. --Tyndale. 4. By of before the time that; in preparation for; so as to be ready for the time when. [Archaic or Dial.] Urijah the priest made it, against King Ahaz came from Damascus. --2 Kings xvi. 11. Against the sun, in a direction contrary to that in which the sun appears to move.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: In addition to the uses shown below, 'against' is used in phrasal verbs such as 'come up against', 'guard against', and 'hold against'. 1. If one thing is leaning or pressing against another, it is touching it. She leaned against him... On a table pushed against a wall there were bottles of beer and wine. ...the rain beating against the window panes. PREP 2. If you are against something such as a plan, policy, or system, you think it is wrong, bad, or stupid. Taxes are unpopular–it is understandable that voters are against them... Joan was very much against commencing drug treatment. ...a march to protest against job losses. PREP • Against is also an adverb. The vote for the suspension of the party was 283 in favour with 29 against. ADV: ADV after v 3. If you compete against someone in a game, you try to beat them. The tour will include games against the Australian Barbarians... PREP 4. If you take action against someone or something, you try to harm them. Security forces are still using violence against opponents of the government. PREP 5. If you take action against a possible future event, you try to prevent it. ...the fight against crime... I must warn you against raising your hopes. PREP 6. If you do something against someone's wishes, advice, or orders, you do not do what they want you to do or tell you to do. He discharged himself from hospital against the advice of doctors. PREP 7. If you do something in order to protect yourself against something unpleasant or harmful, you do something which will make its effects on you less serious if it happens. A business needs insurance against risks such as fire and flood... PREP 8. If you have something against someone or something, you dislike them. Have you got something against women, Les?... PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 9. If something is against the law or against the rules, there is a law or a rule which says that you must not do it. It is against the law to detain you against your will for any length of time... PREP 10. If you are moving against a current, tide, or wind, you are moving in the opposite direction to it. ...swimming upstream against the current... ? with PREP 11. If something happens or is considered against a particular background of events, it is considered in relation to those events, because those events are relevant to it. The profits rise was achieved against a backdrop of falling metal prices. PREP 12. If something is measured or valued against something else, it is measured or valued by comparing it with the other thing. Our policy has to be judged against a clear test: will it improve the standard of education?... The US dollar is down against most foreign currencies today. PREP 13. If you discuss a particular set of facts or figures as against another set, you are comparing or contrasting the two sets of facts or figures. Over 50% of divorced men regretted their divorce, as against 25% of women. PHRASE 14. The odds against something happening are the chances or odds that it will not happen. The odds against him surviving are incredible. PREP: n PREP • Against is also an adverb. What were the odds against? ADV: n ADV 15. up against: see up against the clock: see clock

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-genst' (kata; enantion; pros): Preposition expressing contrast. When used of direction, equivalent to "toward" (Mt 10:35; 12:14, etc.); when of position, meaning "opposite," "facing," "in front of" (1Ki 7:5; Ge 15:10, Ro 8:31); when of action, "opposed to" (Mt 5:11; 26:59; 1Co 4:6); "in resistance to" (Heb 12:4); "provision for" (Greek eis, literally, "unto, toward" (1Ti 6:19)). Sometimes also applied to what breaks an established order as "customs" (Ac 28:17), "nature" (Ro 1:26). Peculiar shades of meaning may be traced by careful examination of the variety of prepositions in Hebrew and Greek employed in the Scriptures, that are translated into English by this one word.

H. E. Jacobs

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

prep. 1. Opposed to, in opposition to, contrary to, adverse to, counter to. 2. Facing, fronting, off, opposite to, over against, close up to, in contact with. 3. In provision for, in expectation of, in preparation for, in anticipation of, for. 4. In compensation for, to counterbalance, in countervail to, in equalization of, to counter-poise, to match, in requital for or of.

Moby Thesaurus

about, across, adverse to, as to, at cross-purposes with, athwart, con, concerning, confronting, contra, contrary to, counter to, dead against, despite, en route to, facing, for, fronting, headed for, in conflict with, in contact with, in contempt of, in defiance of, in disagreement with, in front of, in opposition to, in order to, in passage to, in preparation for, in spite of, in transit to, next to, on, on route to, opposed to, opposite, opposite to, over against, re, regardless of, respecting, to, touching, toward, towards, up, up against, upon, versus, vis-a-vis, with respect to