adversarial
/ˌædvəˈseəriəl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌædvərˈseriəl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌad-vər-ˈser-ē-əl ˌad-və-, -ˈse-rē-/ (ame, mw)
adversarial — adjective
- adversarialpositive
- more adversarialcomparative
- most adversarialsuperlative
1. describing a situation, relationship, or process in which both sides act like op
describing a situation, relationship, or process in which both sides act like opponents, challenge one another, and try to win instead of working together.
By noon, the labor talks had grown adversarial, with both sides trading blame.
grow adversarial in talks or disputes
At the hearing, Gabriel faced an adversarial lawyer who challenged every detail.
adversarial + noun: lawyer, process, system
The coach closed the chat after adversarial comments filled the team page overnight.
What began as a friendly interview became adversarial after the host mocked the singer's answer.
Rather than solving the problem, the email exchange became adversarial within a day.
- hostile
stronger on anger or bad feeling, not just opposition
- confrontational
focuses on openly challenging people in a direct way
- combative
stronger and more personal, often about someone's style
- competitive
can be neutral or positive, without the same sense of conflict
- cooperative
focused on working together toward a shared result
- collaborative
emphasises joint effort and shared planning
- conciliatory
focused on calming conflict and making agreement easier
文法句型
adversarial + relationship/process/system/tone
become/turn/grow adversarial
用法筆記
Usually describes legal, political, workplace, or online situations where each side is trying to defeat, expose, or pressure the other. It often contrasts with 'cooperative' or 'collaborative' and is common with nouns like 'system', 'process', 'relationship', and 'tone'.