Synonyms for ADVERSARIAL: hostile, negative, antagonistic, adverse, contentious, adversary, conflicting, opposed; Antonyms of ADVERSARIAL: sympathetic, civil, friendly, social, …

Opposing & against (Definition of adversarial from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

ADVERSARIAL definition: pertaining to or characterized by antagonism and conflict See examples of adversarial used in a sentence.

Relating to or characteristic of an adversary; involving antagonistic elements: "Some speakers fall almost willingly into an adversarial relationship with the audience" (Don Pfarrer).

Aug 4, 2025 · adversarial (comparative more adversarial, superlative most adversarial) Characteristic of, or in the manner of, an adversary; combative, hostile, opposed. quotations

(especially of political or legal systems) involving people who are in opposition and who argue against each other. Definition of adversarial adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's …

adversarial, adj. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

Adversarial definition: Relating to or characteristic of an adversary; involving antagonistic elements.

If you describe something as adversarial, you mean that it involves two or more people or organizations who are opposing each other.

Being adversarial means that each side is antagonistic, sharply opposed to the other, or locked into a deeply divided rivalry. In fact, this adjective is sometimes used simply to mean "hostile."