I. verb
1.
Synonyms: conquer 1, bear down, beat down, crush, overpower, reduce, subdue, subjugate, vanquish
Related Word: bar, block, hinder, impede, obstruct; repress, suppress
Idioms: beat all hollow, get the better of, grind into the dust, ||have by the short hairs
Contrasted words: capitulate, defer, give in, submit; back down, withdraw
2.
to win a victory over
defeated his opponent in the race
Synonyms: best, down, outdo, ||pip, worst; compare conquer 1, whip 2
Related Word: outfight, outgame; nose out
Idioms: get the better of
II. noun
1.
an overthrow especially of an army in battle
the brigade suffered a defeat
Synonyms: beating, debacle, defeasance, discomfiture, downcast, downthrow, drubbing, ||dusting, licking, overthrow, rout, shellacking, thrashing, trouncing, vanquishment, warming
Related Word: bafflement, check, foil, frustration; rebuff, repulse, reversal, reverse, setback; ||cleaning, ||cleanup, clobbering, lambasting
Contrasted words: conquest, triumph; gaining, securing, winning; ascendancy, supremacy
Antonyms: victory
2.
Synonyms: failure 2, insuccess, nonsuccess, unsuccess, unsuccessfulness