Skip to main content
defeat

defeat

72 3.1
A strong feeling of sadness after you fail to reach a goal
  • noun
  • /dɪˈfiːt/
translation icon : desánimo
  • After years of hard work, she felt the sting of defeat when she failed to win the competition.
  • admit defeat
  • admission of defeat
  • defeat and failure

Every day is full of little defeats and little victories.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • It is what we do in the face of defeat that defines us.

  • There's dignity to be had in defeat.

  • The years and cold defeat live deep in lines along my face.

  • But when defeat took the words from me, the Lord spoke out for me.

  • And so you should take defeat personally.

  • In a world of defeat and failure, honor can be found only in resistance.

    Academic text (2008)
  • I think most of us face tremendous defeat at some point in our lives.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Suddenly, she had a sense of deep defeat, a sense of her own foolishness.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Defeat at the castle seems to have utterly disheartened King Arthur.

  • Pedro, I'm a man who hates defeat, but I'm not too proud to be candid.

Synonyms

frustration
vsdefeat
391 2.5

A feeling of anger or annoyance when you cannot get what you want

is less about anger and more about discouragement plus failed goals
disappointment
vsdefeat
223 1.7

A feeling of sadness or being let down when something you wanted does not happen

is more about upset at failing important goals rather than general sadness
letdown
vsdefeat
27 3.4

A feeling of disappointment when something is not as good as you expected

is stronger, involving frustration or being prevented from success
disillusionment
vsdefeat
16 6.5

A feeling of disappointment when something is not as good as you hoped

centers on personal failure and frustration at not reaching goals
despondency
vsdefeat
4 8.3

A strong feeling of sadness and loss of hope after something bad

is milder and focuses on failing to achieve specific goals rather than hopelessness
discouragement
vsdefeat
3 3.6

A feeling of lost confidence that makes you want to stop trying

is similar but adds frustration when goals are blocked
despondence
vsdefeat
1 8.8

A feeling of deep sadness and no hope

is less extreme and centers on frustration or being blocked from success
disheartenment
vsdefeat
7.3

A feeling of losing hope and confidence

is like that but also includes frustration at failing to succeed
dispiritedness
vsdefeat
7.1

A feeling of being discouraged and without much hope

adds specific frustration tied to failing to reach an aim

Antonyms

262 3.3

A great victory or success that brings joy

Idioms

A team or person loses an almost certain win in the final minute because of a mistake

A situation where someone is very close to losing but has not lost yet

How Defeated

despair
210 3.5
hopelessness
28 4.1
defeat
72 3.1
frustration
391 2.5
disappointment
223 1.7

Surface Forms

defeat singular
defeats plural

Morphology

defeat = feat (opaque) = de + feat

Formally analyzable as de- + feat, but the figurative sense of discouragement is not predictable from 'feat', so the relation is opaque for learners.

Etymology

Defeat can also mean the deep sadness after a loss, and it comes from the same idea of being 'undone' by events. That's why feeling defeat is feeling powerless or beaten.