oppugns

verb

present tense third-person singular of oppugn
1
as in challenges
to demand proof of the truth or rightness of had the temerity to oppugn the merits of a study in a discipline that he knows nothing about

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opposes
to strive to reduce or eliminate guardians of liberty who staunchly oppugned tyranny, whether from the right or the left

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppugns
  1. challenges
  2. opposes
  3. questions
  4. fights
  5. combats
Verb
  • Zahir Islam, PhD, a physicist at ANL, and co-author of the study, said the finding challenges a common assumption in microelectronics that the substrate beneath a thin film simply acts as a passive support.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Jankowski’s Crying for the March of Humanity challenges this distinction by remaking an entire episode of the Mexican telenovela, La que no podía amar (The One Who Couldn’t Love, 2011), replacing all 40-some-minutes of dialogue with crying.
    — Damaly Gonzalez, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of challenges
Verb
  • Netanyahu's nationalistic base opposes concessions to the Palestinians.
    — SEUNG MIN KIM, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • This sense of necessity entirely opposes the narrative contingency in Spider-Noir’s other genre.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of opposes
Verb
  • There was a period where airspace was closed in the Gulf after the Iran conflict began, and then questions about whether the region’s growth story would be interrupted.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • An award decided by sportswriters and broadcasters gives them something convenient to point to when anyone questions that assessment.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of questions
Verb
  • Gemma, still recovering from her injury, fights her impulses and stays on the sideline.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The path of regulation In 2022, the Congressional Budget Office distilled decades of health care policy fights into a single PowerPoint slide.
    — Bob Herman, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of fights
Verb
  • How Wisconsin combats loneliness Sampson said re-establishing connection to other people can often be a trial-and-error process.
    — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This also delivers intense hydration and barrier support that combats thin, dry, crepey skin.
    — Essence Wiley, InStyle, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of combats
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

oppugning
oppugns
opt
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Oppugns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppugns. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All