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versus

[vur-suhs, -suhz]

preposition

against (used especially to indicate an action brought by one party against another in a court of law, or to denote competing teams or players in a sports contest): Smith versus Jones; Army versus Navy.

as compared to or as one of two choices; in contrast with: traveling by plane versus traveling by train. Abbreviation: v., vs.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin: towards, i.e., turned so as to face (something), opposite, over against, orig. past participle of vertere to turn; see verse

Can be confused: verses, versus.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To versus

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Versus is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

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

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Example Sentences

I've written before on the topic of single-purpose versus multipurpose gadgets.

The only issue of subjective versus objective knowledge enters into it.

To the naked eye, there was no difference in the squirrels' tail-waving response to rattlers versus other kinds of snakes.

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I've written before on the topic of single-purpose versus multipurpose gadgets.

The only issue of subjective versus objective knowledge enters into it.

To the naked eye, there was no difference in the squirrels' tail-waving response to rattlers versus other kinds of snakes.

The pesticides used in organic farming are about five versus hundreds of the conventional agriculture.

The difference being one of culture and history versus some notion of biology.

Once you have a folder of ideas, it's time to do a reality check on needs versus desires.

If there's a debate that sums up post-9/11 politics, it's security versus privacy.

In the epic battle of man versus machine, machines have a growing price advantage.

Then he came back inside and tried to engage us in a conversation about literal versus figurative speech.

It's order versus chaos, which is what it always was.

Meere responds to several readers who asked about hip replacement versus hip resurfacing.

But, she explains, there's a difference between a high-functioning workaholic versus a sloppy workaholic.

Hmmmm…people dying of a dreaded disease versus some flourescent kitties.

Some are audio-visual versus audio-verbal and so on.

But in this instance, the trade-off is not merely one of extra costs for farmers versus extra comforts for their charges.

Try and find water that has different sources and compare such as well water versus treated water.

After all, the two types require seemingly disparate talents: physical prowess versus intellect.

Sea monster mamas, bat signals and opossum versus viper.

Again, self-presentation and public versus private image were key concepts.

Policy decisions will also influence the relative strength of the recoveries in the emerging economies versus the rich world.

The eagles had more young during the second visit, possibly because of the higher calorie counts of birds versus fish.

He is deciding how bad he will feel if five people die versus how bad he will feel if he pushes one man to his death.

Previous comparisons of two- versus four-legged walking have produced inconclusive results.

Savings amount to about a third versus buying the add-ons individually.

We don't want this to be big business versus tree huggers".

The first one is whether the crisis will have permanent versus temporary effects on the economy.

The orangutan evidence adds a new twist to the debate of arboreal versus terrestrial bipedalism theories.

Scientists have also investigated changes in brain volume in initial versus sustained abstinence in one set of.

The multiplayer versus modes will feature an experience point system.

The difference is audience and impact on the subfield versus impact on the broader field.

The difference in production is obviously not only one of mere pixels versus print.

It was such a great movie that hit at the heart of man's greed versus nature's need.

It would be interesting to have these statistics shown separately for elected boards versus appointed boards.

Then ask them how many of these problems they think are occurring close to the coast versus hundreds or thousands of miles.

No differences were found in basic versus applied science, or in the significance of findings.

The first test used visual clues such as parallel lines, curved versus straight lines, and holes.

Recent research includes work on gestures and language as well as selfishness versus altruism in chimpanzees.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

versus (ˈvɜːsəs)

—*prep*
1.	v, vs (esp in a competition or lawsuit) against; in opposition to
2.	as opposed to; in contrast with

[C15: from Latin: turned (in the direction of), opposite, from vertere to turn]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

versus

mid-15c., in legal case names, denoting action of one party against another, from L. versus "turned toward or against," from pp. of vertere "to turn," from PIE *wert- "to turn, wind," from base *wer- "to turn, bend" (cf. O.E. -weard "toward," originally "turned toward," weorthan "to befall," wyrd "fate,

EXPAND

destiny," lit. "what befalls one;" Skt. vartate "turns round, rolls;" Avestan varet- "to turn;" L. vertere (freq. versare) "to turn;" O.C.S. vruteti "to turn, roll," Rus. vreteno "spindle, distaff;" Lith. verciu "to turn;" Gk. rhatane "stirrer, ladle;" Ger. werden, O.E. weorðan "to become," for sense, cf. "to turn into;" Welsh gwerthyd "spindle, distaff;" O.Ir. frith "against").

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"No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny."

-Hannah Arendt

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versus

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