against

Use Against in a sentence

preposition

in opposition to; contrary to; adverse or hostile to: twenty votes against ten; against reason.

in resistance to or defense from: protection against burglars.

in an opposite direction to: to ride against the wind.

into contact or collision with; toward; upon: The rain beat against the window.

in contact with: to lean against the wall.

in preparation for; in provision for: money saved against a rainy day.

having as background: a design of flowers against a dark wall.

in exchange for; as a balance to or debit or charge on: He asked for an advance against his salary.

in competition with: a racehorse running against his own record time.

10.

in comparison or contrast with: a matter of reason as against emotion.

11.

beside; near; before: The car is against the building.

Relevant Questions

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conjunction

12.

Archaic. before; by the time that.

00:10

Against is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Idioms

13.

over against, in contrast with: the rich over against the poor.

Origin:
1125–75; Middle English agens, ageynes, equivalent to ageyn again + -es -s¹; for -t cf. whilst, amongst

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To against

Collins

World English Dictionary

against (əˈɡɛnst, əˈɡeɪnst)

—*prep*
1.	opposed to; in conflict or disagreement with: they fought against the legislation
2.	standing or leaning beside or in front of: a ladder against the wall
3.	coming in contact with: the branches of a tree brushed against the bus
4.	in contrast to: silhouettes are outlines against a light background
5.	having an adverse or unfavourable effect on: the economic system works against small independent companies
6.	as a protection from or means of defence from the adverse effects of: a safeguard against contaminated water
7.	in exchange for or in return for
8.	rare in preparation for: he gave them warm clothing against their journey through the night
9.	as against as opposed to or as compared with: he had two shots at him this time as against only one last time

[C12: ageines, from again, ageyn, etc, again + -es genitive ending; the spelling with -t (C16) was probably due to confusion with superlatives ending in -st]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

against

early 12c., agenes "in opposition to," a southern variant of agen "again" (see again), with adverbial genitive and a parasitic -t that turned up mid-14c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

against

In addition to the idioms beginning with against, also see beat one's head against the wall; cards are stacked against; come up against; count against; dead set against; guard against; have something against; hold something against; lift a hand against; over against; pit someone against; run against; set against; swim against; turn against; two strikes against; up against.