to overcome in a contest, election, battle, etc.; prevail over; vanquish: They defeated the enemy. She defeated her brother at tennis.
2.
to frustrate; thwart.
3.
to eliminate or deprive of something expected: The early returns defeated his hopes of election.
4.
Law. to annul.
–noun
5.
the act of overcoming in a contest: an overwhelming defeat of all opposition.
6.
an instance of defeat; setback: He considered his defeat a personal affront.
7.
an overthrow or overturning; vanquishment: the defeat of a government.
8.
a bringing to naught; frustration: the defeat of all his hopes and dreams.
9.
the act or event of being bested; losing: Defeat is not something she abides easily.
10.
Archaic. undoing; destruction; ruin.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME defeten (v.) < AF, OF desfait, ptp. of desfaire to undo, destroy < ML disfacere, equiv. to L dis-dis-1+ facere to do]
—Related forms
de·feat·er, noun
—Synonyms 1. overwhelm, overthrow, rout, check. Defeat,conquer,overcome,subdue imply gaining a victory or control over an opponent. Defeat suggests beating or frustrating: to defeat an enemy in battle. Conquer implies finally gaining control over, usually after a series of efforts or against systematic resistance: to conquer a country, one's inclinations. Overcome emphasizes surmounting difficulties in prevailing over an antagonist: to overcome opposition, bad habits. Subdue means to conquer so completely that resistance is broken: to subdue a rebellious spirit. 2. foil, baffle, balk. 7. downfall.
To prevent the success of; thwart: Internal strife defeats the purpose of teamwork.
Law To make void; annul.
n.
The act of defeating or state of being defeated.
Failure to win.
A coming to naught; frustration: the defeat of a lifelong dream.
Law The act of making null and void.
[Middle English defeten, from defet, disfigured, from Old French desfait, past participle of desfaire, to destroy, from Medieval Latin disfacere, to destroy, mutilate, undo : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin facere, to do; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
de·feat'er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to triumph over an adversary. Defeat is the most general: "Whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same" (Thomas Paine).
Conquer suggests decisive and often wide-scale victory: "The Franks . . . having conquered the Gauls, established the kingdom which has taken its name from them" (Alexander Hamilton).
Vanquish emphasizes total mastery: Napoleon's forces were vanquished at Waterloo. Beat is similar to defeat, though less formal and often more emphatic: "To win battles . . . you beat the soul . . . of the enemy man" (George S. Patton).
Rout implies complete victory followed by the disorderly flight of the defeated force: The enemy was routed in the first battle. Subdue suggests mastery and control achieved by overpowering: "It cost [the Romans] two great wars, and three great battles, to subdue that little kingdom [Macedonia]" (Adam Smith).
Subjugate more strongly implies reducing an opponent to submission: "The last foreigner to subjugate England was a Norman duke in the Middle Ages named William" (Stanley Meisler).
To overcome is to prevail over, often by persevering: He overcame his injury after months of physical therapy.
c.1374, from Anglo-Norm. defeter, from O.Fr. defait, pp. of defaire, from V.L. *diffacere "undo, destroy," from L. dis- "un-, not" + facere "to do, perform" (see factitious). Original sense was of "bring ruination, cause destruction." Military sense of "conquer" is c.1600. Defeatism, defeatist are 1918, from Fr. défaitiste, in reference to the Russians.
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest; "it was a narrow defeat"; "the army's only defeat"; "they suffered a convincing licking" [ant: triumph]
2.
the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals [syn: frustration]
verb
1.
win a victory over; "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up" [syn: get the better of]
2.
thwart the passage of; "kill a motion"; "he shot down the student's proposal" [syn: kill]
De*fea"sance\, n. [OF. defesance, fr. defesant, F. d['e]faisant, p. pr. of defaire, F. d['e]faire, to undo. See Defeat.]1. A defeat; an overthrow. [Obs.] After his foes' defeasance. --Spenser. 2. A rendering null or void. 3. (Law) A condition, relating to a deed, which being performed, the deed is defeated or rendered void; or a collateral deed, made at the same time with a feoffment, or other conveyance, containing conditions, on the performance of which the estate then created may be defeated. Note: Mortgages were usually made in this manner in former times, but the modern practice is to include the conveyance and the defeasance in the same deed.
De*feat"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defeated; p. pr. & vb. n. Defeating.] [From F. d['e]fait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe d['e]faire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]1. To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [Obs.] His unkindness may defeat my life. --Shak. 2. To render null and void, as a title; to frustrate, as hope; to deprive, as of an estate. He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes. --Tillotson. The escheators . . . defeated the right heir of his succession. --Hallam. In one instance he defeated his own purpose. --A. W. Ward. 3. To overcome or vanquish, as an army; to check, disperse, or ruin by victory; to overthrow. 4. To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault. Sharp reasons to defeat the law. --Shak. Syn: To baffle; disappoint; frustrate.
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