against


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a·gainst

 (ə-gĕnst′)
prep.
1. In a direction or course opposite to: row against the current.
2. So as to come into forcible contact with: waves dashing against the shore.
3. In contact with so as to rest or press on: leaned against the tree.
4. In hostile opposition or resistance to: struggle against fate.
5. Contrary to; opposed to: against my better judgment.
6. In competition with: raced against the record holder.
7. In contrast or comparison with the setting or background of: dark colors against a fair skin.
8. In preparation for; in anticipation of: food stored against winter.
9. As a defense or safeguard from: protection against the cold.
10. To the account or debt of: drew a check against my bank balance.
11. Directly opposite to; facing.

[Middle English, alteration of againes, from Old English ongeagn.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

against

(əˈɡɛnst; əˈɡeɪnst)
prep
1. opposed to; in conflict or disagreement with: they fought against the legislation.
2. standing or leaning beside or in front of: a ladder against the wall.
3. coming in contact with: the branches of a tree brushed against the bus.
4. in contrast to: silhouettes are outlines against a light background.
5. having an adverse or unfavourable effect on: the economic system works against small independent companies.
6. as a protection from or means of defence from the adverse effects of: a safeguard against contaminated water.
7. in exchange for or in return for
8. rare in preparation for: he gave them warm clothing against their journey through the night.
9. as against as opposed to or as compared with: he had two shots at him this time as against only one last time.
[C12: ageines, from again, ageyn, etc, again + -es genitive ending; the spelling with -t (C16) was probably due to confusion with superlatives ending in -st]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•gainst

(əˈgɛnst, əˈgeɪnst)

prep.
1. in opposition to; contrary to: twenty votes against ten.
2. in resistance to or defense from: protection against mosquitos.
3. in an opposite direction to: walking against the wind.
4. in or into contact with; upon: The rain beat against the window. Don't lean against the door.
5. in preparation for: money saved against a rainy day.
6. having as background: a design of flowers against a dark wall.
7. as a charge or debit on: an advance against one's salary.
8. in competition with: a racehorse running against his own record time.
9. in contrast with: reason as against emotion.
conj.
10. Archaic. before; by the time that.
Idioms:
over against, in contrast with.
[1125–75; Middle English agens, ageynes=ageyn again + -es -s1; for -t compare whilst, amongst]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

against

preposition
1. beside, on, up against, in contact with, abutting, close up to She leaned against him.
2. opposed to, anti (informal), opposing, counter, contra (informal), hostile to, in opposition to, averse to, opposite to, not in accord with She was very much against commencing the treatment.
3. in opposition to, resisting, versus, counter to, in the opposite direction of swimming upstream against the current
4. in defiance of, resisting, in spite of, in the face of, disregarding, in opposition to, in contempt of, in disobedience to He left hospital early against the advice of doctors.
5. in preparation for, in case of, in anticipation of, in expectation of, in provision for You'll need insurance against fire, flood and breakage.
6. in comparison to, in return for, in compensation for, in exchange against The US dollar is down against most foreign currencies.
7. unfavourable to, damaging to, harmful to, detrimental to, prejudicial to, injurious to, hurtful to, adverse to, disadvantageous to, deleterious to, inexpedient to, inopportune to There are few jobs, and my age is against me.
Related words
prefixes anti-, contra-, counter-
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
إلَى، عَلَىبِالمُغَايَرَة مَع، بِالمُقَابَلَة مَعضِدضِد، مُضَاد لِضِدَّ
protiudoo
modimod
vastaanvastavirtaanvastenedessä
naprotiv
ellenitámaszkodva
á móti, gegngegn, mótimóti, meî e-î aî bakgrunni, bera viî e-îupp , aî
・・・にもたれて・・・に対抗して
...에 반대하여…에 대항하여
foneįprieš
pretuz
proti
mot
พิง ติดกับสู้กับ ต้าน
…-e/a…-e/a karşıdayalıkarşızıttına
chống lạidựa vào

against

[əˈgenst]
When against is an element in a phrasal verb, eg go against, run up against, look up the verb.
A. PREP
1. (= in opposition to) [+ person] → contra, en contra de; [+ plan] → en contra de
what have you got against me?¿qué tiene usted en contra de mí?, ¿qué tiene usted contra mí?
I spoke against the planhablé en contra del proyecto
I see nothing against itno veo nada en contra
he was against itestaba en contra, se opuso a ello
he was against goingestaba en contra de ir
it's against the lawla ley lo prohíbe, es ilegal
it's against the rulesno lo permiten las reglas
conditions are against uslas condiciones nos son desfavorables
luck was against himla suerte le era contraria
to stand or run against sb (Pol) → presentarse en contra de algn
to be up against itestar en un aprieto
now we're really up against it!¡ahora sí tenemos problemas!
see also tide 2
2. (= in contact with) → contra
he hit his head against the wallse dio con la cabeza contra la pared
he leant the ladder against the wallapoyó la escalera contra la pared
3. (= in front of) → contra
against the lightcontra la luz, a contrasol
the hills stood out against the sunsetlas colinas se destacaban sobre la puesta del sol
4. (in comparisons) (as) againstcontra, en contraste con
six today, as against seven yesterdayseis hoy, en comparación con siete ayer
5. (= for) refund available against this voucherse devuelve el precio al presentar este comprobante
everything was ready against his arrivaltodo estaba listo para su llegada
B. ADVen contra
well, I'm againstbueno, yo estoy en contra
there were 20 votes againsthubo 20 votos en contra
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

against

[əˈgɛnst] prep
(physically)contre
He leant against the wall → Il s'est appuyé contre le mur.
(= opposed to) → contre
I'm against nuclear testing → Je suis contre les essais nucléaires.
(= towards) → contre, à l'encontre de
violence against women → la violence à l'encontre des femmes
(in game, competition)contre
(= compared to) → par rapport à
as against (British)contre
(= in contrast to) against a blue background → sur un fond bleu
an orange vase placed against a blue background → un vase orange placé sur un fond bleu
(= counter to) against the law → contraire à la loi
against the rules → contraire aux règles
against sb's wishes → contre les vœux de qn, contre la volonté de qn
against sb's advice → contre l'avis de qn
against one's will (= unwillingly) → contre son gré
(expressing a grudge) to have sth against sb → en avoir contre qn, en vouloir à qn
to have nothing against sb → ne rien avoir contre qn
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

against

prep
(opposition, protest) → gegen (+acc); he’s against her goinger ist dagegen, dass sie geht; everybody’s against me!alle sind gegen mich!; to have something/nothing against somebody/somethingetwas/nichts gegen jdn/etw haben; against that you have to consider …Sie müssen aber auch bedenken; against my will, I decided …wider Willen habe ich beschlossen; against their wishesentgegen ihrem Wunsch; to fight against somebodygegen or wider (liter)jdn kämpfen
(indicating impact, support, proximity) → an (+acc), → gegen (+acc); to hit one’s head against the mantelpiecemit dem Kopf gegen or an das Kaminsims stoßen; push all the chairs right back against the wallstellen Sie alle Stühle direkt an die Wand
(= in the opposite direction to)gegen (+acc)
(= in front of, in juxtaposition to)gegen (+acc); against the lightgegen das Licht
(= in preparation for) sb’s arrival, departure, one’s old agefür (+acc); misfortune, bad weather etcim Hinblick auf (+acc); against the possibility of a bad winterfür den Fall, dass es einen schlechten Winter gibt
(= compared with) (as) againstgegenüber (+dat); she had three prizes (as) against his sixsie hatte drei Preise, er hingegen sechs; the advantages of flying (as) against going by boatdie Vorteile von Flugreisen gegenüber Schiffsreisen; against the eurogegenüber dem Euro
(Fin: = in return for) → gegen; the visa will be issued against payment of …das Visum wird gegen Zahlung von … ausgestellt; to draw money against securitygegen Sicherheit(sleistung) or Deckung Geld abheben
adj pred (= not in favour)dagegen; how many against?wie viele sind dagegen? ? for1 ADJ
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

against

[əˈgɛnst] prep
a. (in contact with) → a, contro
I was leaning against the desk → ero appoggiato alla scrivania
he leaned the ladder against the wall → appoggiò la scala al or contro il muro
b. (in opposition to) → contro
he was against going → era contrario ad andare
what have you got against me? → cos'hai contro di me?
it's against the law → è contrario alla or contro la legge
to run against sb (Pol) → contrapporre la propria candidatura a quella di qn
c. (in contrast to) against the lightcontroluce
against a blue background → su uno sfondo azzurro
d. (Brit) (in comparisons) (as) againstin confronto a, contro
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

against

(əˈgenst) preposition
1. in opposition to. They fought against the enemy; Dropping litter is against the law (= illegal).
2. in contrast to. The trees were black against the evening sky.
3. touching or in contact with. He stood with his back against the wall; The rain beat against the window.
4. in order to protect against. vaccination against tuberculosis.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

against

ضِدَّ proti, u mod gegen εναντίον, σε contra vastaan contre na, protiv contro ・・・にもたれて, ・・・に対抗して ...에 반대하여, …에 대항하여 tegen mot przeciw, przeciwko contra против mot พิง ติดกับ, สู้กับ ต้าน karşı chống lại, dựa vào 与…对阵, 针对
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

against

prep. contra, enfrente;
v.
to be ___oponerse; enfrentarse a, con.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
These two species of monarchies arise from principles contrary to each other: a kingdom is formed to protect the better sort of people against the multitude, and kings are appointed out of those, who are chosen either for their superior virtue and actions flowing from virtuous principles, or else from their noble descent; but a tyrant is chosen out of the meanest populace; an enemy to the better sort, that the common people may not be oppressed by them.
Before I proceed to give an account of my leaving this kingdom, it may be proper to inform the reader of a private intrigue which had been for two months forming against me.
Owing to their historical position, it became the vocation of the aristocracies of France and England to write pamphlets against modern bourgeois society.
For what seemed hours Carthoris squatted upon the stone floor of his prison, his back against the wall in which was sunk the heavy eye-bolt that secured the chain which held him.
All candid and intelligent men must, upon due consideration, acknowledge that the principle of the objection is equally applicable to either of the two cases; and that whether we have one government for all the States, or different governments for different parcels of them, or even if there should be an entire separation of the States, there might sometimes be a necessity to make use of a force constituted differently from the militia, to preserve the peace of the community and to maintain the just authority of the laws against those violent invasions of them which amount to insurrections and rebellions.
The Shepherd at first stood on his guard against him, as against an enemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements.
And she is warned by others against following this advice under pain of the most fatal consequences.
Combined with the hurry in his mode of doing it, was an evident indifference to the taste of what he took, suggesting that he ate and drank to fortify himself against any other failure of the spirits, far more than to gratify his palate.
Some took sides with Phileas Fogg, but the large majority shook their heads and declared against him; it was absurd, impossible, they declared, that the tour of the world could be made, except theoretically and on paper, in this minimum of time, and with the existing means of travelling.
against my will, my fate A throne unsettled, and an infant state, Bid me defend my realms with all my pow'rs, And guard with these severities my shores.
But though this latter view, if she indeed had it, may appear reasonable enough, yet the event did not answer her expectation; for when she was convened before the justice, and it was universally apprehended that the house of correction would have been her fate, though some of the young women cryed out "It was good enough for her," and diverted themselves with the thoughts of her beating hemp in a silk gown; yet there were many others who began to pity her condition: but when it was known in what manner Mr Allworthy had behaved, the tide turned against her.
MY LAST paper assigned several reasons why the safety of the people would be best secured by union against the danger it may be exposed to by JUST causes of war given to other nations; and those reasons show that such causes would not only be more rarely given, but would also be more easily accommodated, by a national government than either by the State governments or the proposed little confederacies.