defeat
de·feat
verb
1.
- “You must overcome all difficulties”
- “defeat your enemies”
- “He overcame his shyness”
- “She conquered here fear of mice”
- “He overcame his infirmity”
- “Her anger got the better of her and she blew up”
noun
1.
2.
the feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals
Origin
From Middle English defet, from French deffet, desfait, past participle of the verb desfaire (compare modern French défaire), from des- + faire.
Phrases
- admit defeat
- defeat the purpose
- snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
- snatch victory from the jaws of defeat
- social defeat
Related words
Broader terms
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.