defeater - definition of defeater by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

de·feat (d

-f

)

tr.v. de·feat·ed, de·feat·ing, de·feats

1. To win victory over; beat.

2. To prevent the success of; thwart: Internal strife defeats the purpose of teamwork.

3. Law To make void; annul.

1. The act of defeating or state of being defeated.

2. Failure to win.

3. A coming to naught; frustration: the defeat of a lifelong dream.

4. 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 dh- in Indo-European roots.]

de·feater n.

Synonyms: defeat, conquer, vanquish, beat, rout¹, subdue, subjugate, overcome
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.

defeat

Verb

1. to win a victory over

2. to thwart or frustrate: this accident has defeated all his hopes of winning

Noun

the act of defeating or state of being defeated [Old French desfaire to undo, ruin]

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	defeat - an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest; "it was a narrow defeat"; "the army's only defeat"; "they suffered a convincing licking" licking conclusion, ending, finish - event whose occurrence ends something; "his death marked the ending of an era"; "when these final episodes are broadcast it will be the finish of the show" failure - an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose; "the surprise party was a complete failure" heartbreaker - a narrow defeat or a defeat at the last minute lurch - a decisive defeat in a game (especially in cribbage) rout - an overwhelming defeat shutout, skunk - a defeat in a game where one side fails to score thrashing, trouncing, walloping, drubbing, slaughter, whipping, debacle - a sound defeat waterloo - a final crushing defeat; "he met his waterloo" whitewash - a defeat in which the losing person or team fails to score triumph, victory - a successful ending of a struggle or contest; "a narrow victory"; "the general always gets credit for his army's victory"; "clinched a victory"; "convincing victory"; "the agreement was a triumph for common sense"
	2.	defeat - the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals frustration disappointment, letdown - a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized; "his hopes were so high he was doomed to disappointment"
Verb	1.	defeat - 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" get the better of, overcome demolish, destroy - defeat soundly; "The home team demolished the visitors" beat, beat out, vanquish, trounce, crush, shell - come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game" wallop - defeat soundly and utterly; "We'll wallop them!" down - bring down or defeat (an opponent) overrun - seize the position of and defeat; "the Crusaders overran much of the Holy Land" skunk, lurch - defeat by a lurch rout, rout out, expel - cause to flee; "rout out the fighters from their caves" upset - defeat suddenly and unexpectedly; "The foreign team upset the local team" nose - defeat by a narrow margin conquer - overcome by conquest; "conquer your fears"; "conquer a country" make it, pull round, pull through, survive, come through - continue in existence after (an adversity, etc.); "He survived the cancer against all odds"
	2.	defeat - thwart the passage of; "kill a motion"; "he shot down the student's proposal" vote down, vote out, kill, shoot down negative, veto, blackball - vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent; "The President vetoed the bill"