adversarial

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adversarial

/ˌæd.vəˈsɛə.ɹi.əl/ UK
/ˌæd.vɚˈsɛɚ.i.əl/ US
/ˌæd.vəˈseː.ɹi.əl/ Australia

Where it comes from

Probably from adversary + -al

adjective more adversarial · most adversarial

Characteristic of, or in the manner of, an adversary; combative, hostile, opposed. In polling by the Pew Research Center in November 2008, fully half the respondents thought the two parties would cooperate more in the coming year, versus only 36 percent who thought the climate would grow more adversarial.
In which issues are tried through the presentation of evidence and argument by adverse parties, with no or limited inquiry by the court's own initiative. Canada uses an adversarial system of criminal justice, whereas France uses an inquisitorial model.

Opposite: cooperative

Thesaurus

adjective

Opposite: cooperative

Translations

Every language

adj characteristic of, or in the manner of, an adversary

Español	adverso
中文	敵對的 /敌对的 díduì de, 對抗的 /对抗的 duìkàng de
Deutsch	feindlich, gegnerisch, konfliktreich, konfliktär, auf Gegensätzen beruhend, kontradiktorisch
العربية	عدائي

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MLA

"adversarial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/adversarial. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

adversarial. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/adversarial

Chicago

"adversarial." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/adversarial.

BibTeX

@misc{adversarial_2026,
  title = {adversarial},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/adversarial},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}