AGAINST


Meaning of AGAINST in English

preposition

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

against all odds (= despite something seeming very unlikely )

Against all odds, he recovered from his illness.

against the wall

Bob leaned against the wall .

against your better judgment (= even though you think your action might be wrong )

I lent him the money, against my better judgment.

against/contrary to expectations (= very different to what someone expected )

Contrary to our expectations, the share price actually increased.

an injection against sth

You may need to be given an injection against tetanus.

appeal against conviction (= ask a court of law to change it )

The men intend to appeal against their convictions.

battle/struggle against the odds (= work hard despite great difficulties )

The Coastguard was battling against the odds to keep the oil spill from reaching the shore.

be against sb’s principles

It’s against my principles to eat meat.

be against the rules (= not be allowed )

It was against the rules to talk in class.

be dead (set) against sth (= completely disapprove of or disagree with something )

I’d like to be an actress but Mum and Dad are dead set against it.

be seen against the background of

The unemployment data must be seen against the background of world recession.

brace sth against sth

Gina braced her back against the wall and pushed as hard as she could.

bring a case (against sb)

There was not enough evidence to bring a case against him.

bring a complaint against sb formal (= complain in a formal, legal way )

Higgins brought a complaint against his former manager.

bring a lawsuit against sb (= to take a lawsuit against someone to a court )

A former employee brought a lawsuit against the company claiming unfair dismissal.

bring a prosecution against sb (= prosecute them )

The police did not bring a prosecution against him.

bring an accusation against sb

The accusations against him were brought by two 18-year-old women.

fell...against the yen (= decreased in value in relation to the yen )

The dollar fell by 24 percent against the yen between 1970 and 1973.

file a complaint/lawsuit/petition etc (against sb)

Mr Genoa filed a formal complaint against the department.

go against the grain (= are not what I would normally choose to do )

I often have to make decisions that go against the grain .

have a grievance (against sb)

I had no grievance against him.

have nothing against (= have no reason to dislike them )

I have nothing against foreigners .

hoping against hope (= hoping for something that is very unlikely to happen or be true )

I rang my parents, hoping against hope that they hadn’t left yet.

insure (sth/sb) against loss/damage/theft/sickness etc

It is wise to insure your property against storm damage.

it went against the grain

Mary is always honest and it went against the grain to tell lies.

level an accusation against/at sb (= bring an accusation against someone )

As a result, some outrageous accusations were levelled at her.

pit your wits against sb (= compete against someone using your intelligence or knowledge )

Pit your wits against family or friends!

prejudice against women/black people etc

There is still a lot of prejudice against women in positions of authority.

protect sth against frost

The plants need to be protected against frost.

race against time/the clock

The astronauts are racing against time to repair the spaceship.

risen against the dollar (= increased in value in relation to the dollar )

The pound has risen against the dollar .

sth is against the law (= it is illegal )

The children knew that shoplifting was against the law.

strike a blow at/against/to sth

The scandal seemed to have struck a mortal blow to the government’s chances of re-election.

take/make/mount a stand (against sth)

We have to take a stand against racism.

the fight/war against terrorism

ideas on how the international community can further the war against terrorism

the odds are stacked against sb (= there are a lot of difficulties that may prevent someone’s success )

They may be able to build a life for themselves, but the odds are stacked against them.

up against it

Murphy will be really up against it when he faces the champion this afternoon.

works against (= harms or causes problems for )

Sexism still works against women in many professions.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a black mark (against sb)

It is almost impossible to borrow money if you have any black marks against you.

A mini-breakdown was less of a black mark than a criminal record if he should ever choose to emigrate.

Incidentally, Willoughby, you've earned yourself a black mark for that little trouble.

Irina had put a black mark against him with Rakovsky.

It would be a good mark, not a black mark.

The exam league tables have also been given a black mark by teaching unions.

The outcome will be recorded but the finding does not constitute a black mark on the record of the officer involved.

Why is not immediately obvious but sufficiently worrying to put a black mark against the program.

You get a black mark next to your name that may show up in your next evaluation.

against nature

against sb's wishes

He became a dancer against the wishes of his family.

against the clock

For a normally aspirated 2.5, the 325i's showing against the clock is complete and impressive.

He was positive in all he did and this approach helped us to win many games against the clock or the weather.

Needless to say, starting that particular sewer again is very time-consuming, and the whole thing's against the clock !

Sullivan Sergeant Sullivan looked at the wristwatch his girlfriend had given him and checked it against the clock on the wall.

The ride is against the clock and points are taken away for knocking down obstacles.

Thorns Gill is too precious to suffer damage by boots racing against the clock .

against the grain

For those raised in the prudery of puritanism or the celibacy-conscious preoccupations of Catholicism this ran against the grain .

Granted, that goes against the grain .

Greg Dively is one woodworker who really goes against the grain .

However it goes against the grain to tell them anything.

However, it goes against the grain to have to say this, as it is our land after all.

It went against the grain to have to tell others how to behave.

Once again, Silverton goes against the grain by making her meringue smooth and flat instead of fluffy and high.

The Smiths run directly against the grain .

as against sth

Profits this year are $2.5 million as against $4 million last year.

be (like) banging/bashing etc your head against a brick wall

be drawn against sb

The curtains, so blue that they were almost black, were drawn against the view.

Window shades were drawn against the afternoon sun and the light in the house had an amber cast.

be more sinned against than sinning

be proof against sth

The varnish makes the wood proof against water.

A marine regiment was equipped with plasma cannon, and the marine battle armour was proof against most weapons.

Even my highly regrettable tendency to react positively whenever the fridge door is opened was proof against that.

Roxburgh Castle was proof against all but prolonged siege and heavy artillery.

be/come up against a (brick) wall

She swam in what she hoped was the direction of the stairs, only to come up against a wall .

bring charges/a lawsuit/a court case/a prosecution/a claim (against sb)

close your mind to/against sth

Academic interpretations held off the shame for a while, but then he could no longer close his mind to it.

Bambi's closed her mind to it.

He could tell by her eyes that she had closed her mind to him.

I closed my ears and tried to close my mind to what was happening.

Memories of her grandmother's judgements obtruded themselves and she closed her mind against them.

She had immediately closed her mind to all thought, not even realising how tightly she had been gripping fitzAlan's hand.

She stretched out on the bed, closing her mind to the sounds and waited.

cover yourself (against sth)

Dealers will no longer need to buy to cover themselves, removing one factor that has supported prices.

He covered himself with a blanket that suddenly seemed to move on its own-an army of insects began crawling over his skin.

He covers himself in rose-water all the time so that the place smells like a funeral parlour.

He tumbled to the ground, writhed around on the dirt and covered himself with dust.

I slid out of bed and covered myself with a huge paisley shawl.

In a sense it was inevitable that Kelly should cover himself in glory.

My landlady had stopped screaming by now because she'd managed to cover herself up.

She told him that he would cover himself with ridicule by bringing the boy back.

crime against humanity

All are defined as crimes against humanity and carry a penalty of life imprisonment.

All four have been charged with crimes against humanity by the Hague International Tribunal.

He is charged with 20 war crimes , including genocide and crimes against humanity.

If the conference succeeds in labelling slave trafficking a crime against humanity, demands for compensation will surely follow.

Shouldn't they at least be discussed within the same context of international law and crimes against humanity?

That is a crime against humanity.

These are crimes against humanity, as has been said.

They also slavishly accepted the amnesty that Pinochet and his generals had granted themselves to avoid trial for their crimes against humanity.

flatten yourself against sth

I flattened myself against the wall.

As the train began slowing down for North Chittendon, I flattened myself against the window.

Brennan and Douglas flattened themselves against the front of the trench as it went over.

I flattened myself against the wall.

Quickly they moved out of sight, flattening themselves against the corridor walls to either side of the short passage.

She'd flattened herself against the outside wall like some one in a spy movie.

She flattened herself against the end terrace wall and looked back.

go against the flow

have nothing against sb/sth

I have nothing against Jack personally, I just don't like his line of work.

Atari and Psion, like most companies, have nothing against enthusiasts making one or two copies for personal back-ups.

I have nothing against Mr Jack Neighbours, who sadly, I understand, was killed in the war.

I have nothing against the Arabs ... They are the same as us.

I have nothing against the Arabs.

I have nothing against these resorts, but my own shortlist of best resorts would not include any of them.

I have nothing against thorns and prickles so long as you can admire them from a safe distance.

Now I want this distinctly understood, that I have nothing against Cleveland.

have your back to/against the wall

have/make common cause (with/against sb)

hold your own (against sb)

And he is bound to hold his own.

Chaparral and forests resisted the invasion, and in some places they have held their own even against fire and development.

He and his government colleagues were confident they could hold their own against the mujahedin.

In many areas, Whigs clearly continued to hold their own amongst the squirearchy.

Sharpe was holding his own sword low beside his stirrup, almost as if he could not be bothered to fight.

Then, holding her own breath and moving stealthily on tiptoe, she began to ease her way towards the exit.

Well and nobly did... his gallant troops hold their own....

You hold your own life together.

hurl yourself at/against etc sb/sth

And yet people still hurl themselves at this fence.

For an instant, Jimmy wondered whether he should hurl himself at the plate-glass windows.

I hurl myself at the soldier.

Shopkeeper Nasser Ali, 25, hurled himself at Conroy, who emptied his magazine of all six shots.

The control room door slammed shut behind Atrimonides as he ran on to the gallery and hurled himself at Christine.

The warriors hurled themselves at the heads or horns of their animals to make them lie down.

The wind was gusting through the branches of the old oak tree outside and hurling itself against his window.

kick against the pricks

level criticism/charges/accusations etc at/against sb

Even Mrs Thatcher levelled criticism at the lack of compartment privacy, but the policy against compartments was now firmly established.

make/find common cause (with/against sb)

not have a bad word to say about/against sb

over against sth

The church is being forced to define itself over against non-religious culture.

pit your wits against sb

Jill and Oz will pit their wits against each other, as they try to identify mystery wines.

race/work/battle against time

But his parents are faced with a desperate race against time to raise the money necessary for his treatment.

For the cartoonists, it's a daily battle against time , to create work that captures the imagination.

However, with the contract negotiations starting, Lipton and others know that they are fighting a battle against time .

It is a race against time .

It looks as if my whole life is a race against time .

Now it is a race against time to rebuild it before high spring ties later this month.

The picture which became the cover shot, of the Rollright Stones, was a particular race against time .

They face a race against time as fears grow over the health of the whales and the possibility of their becoming beached.

range yourself with/against sb/sth

set on/upon/against (doing) sth

A pail of cold water for washing was set on the floor so that performers had to bend over to use it.

Lance Rees was set on as he passed the sorting office in Withernsea, Humberside, on his way to school.

Manuel Perez's brother left after his house was set on fire.

Margarett set upon the package, tearing at its wrappings, only to find beneath it another carton, then still another.

Once again I detect a false opposition: an idealised reality set against the alien forces of darkness.

They were hacked to death and their bodies set on fire.

Time limits may be set on how long employees can leave their goods in storage and receive reimbursement from their employers.

Were the limits set on their radiation exposure acceptable?

set sth against tax

Parents can also set costs against tax.

set sth off against tax

set your face against sth

Alternatively, the rule-makers can set their faces against the pressures for change.

Does the hon. Gentleman really want to set his face against the improvements that trust status could deliver?

I would set my face against the casualisation of the Corporation.

It has set its face against cutting prices.

The Lord Chancellor set his face against growing criticism over his behaviour.

set yourself against (doing) sth

But pop sets itself against nature and abandons wisdom for folly, moments of dissipation.

She leaned into him, set herself against him.

The three Established Church representatives set themselves against; the other four who were Free Churchmen were for it.

Why has the Supreme Court set itself against the will of the majority on such an unprecedented scale?

sth is loaded against sb/sth

swim against the tide/current etc

Light given out by distant galaxies has to swim against the tide of expansion to get to us.

There s no point in you tryin to swim against the tide now, is there?

the dice/odds are loaded against sb/sth

the odds/cards are stacked against sb

Although confident, we know the odds are stacked against the climbers.

there ought to be a law against sth

there's no law against sth

two/three strikes against sb/sth

For the younger pilots, I had two strikes against me before I even began that were impossible to overcome.

Generally, unless batters have two strikes against them, Bosley doesn't want them to swing at high strikes.

up against sth/sb

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

Eating good food is good insurance against sickness.

Everyone was against closing the factory.

He was injured in the game against the Cowboys.

I'm against all forms of hunting.

I hate it when the cat rubs its head against my legs.

I have trouble knowing what colors look good against each other.

It's against my principles to borrow money.

It's so difficult swimming against the current.

Only 3% of blacks were registered voters against 97% of the white residents.

The planning regulations tend to work against smaller companies.

The rain drummed against the window.

The younger policeman was leaning against the desk.

There were 10 votes for and 15 against the motion.

This spray can be used against weevil and other crop pests.

We had to sail against the wind.

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.