Explanation at your level:
When you play a game and you lose, you are defeated. It means you did not win. You feel a little sad. You try again next time!
If a team loses a match, they are defeated. It is a common word in sports. You can also say you feel defeated if you are very tired and cannot finish your homework.
Defeated describes the state of someone who has lost a contest or failed to achieve a goal. It is often used to talk about armies, sports teams, or even personal struggles. When you feel defeated, you might feel like giving up because things are too hard.
Beyond simple loss, defeated carries a connotation of being overcome or overwhelmed. It is frequently used in formal contexts, such as political elections or military history. However, in daily life, it describes the emotional exhaustion that comes after repeated failure or intense pressure.
The term defeated functions as a powerful descriptor for both external outcomes and internal psychological states. In academic or literary writing, it can signify the collapse of an ideology or a systemic failure. It suggests a total loss of agency, where the subject is no longer able to resist or continue the struggle.
Etymologically rooted in the concept of being 'undone', defeated implies a profound transformation from a state of potential to a state of finality. In high-level discourse, it is used to characterize the inevitable conclusion of a conflict where the victor's dominance is absolute. Culturally, it evokes themes of tragedy and the 'noble loser', where the state of being defeated is not merely a loss of points, but a fundamental shift in reality.
واژه در 30 ثانیه
- Means to have lost.
- Used for games and feelings.
- Opposite of victorious.
- Common in sports and politics.
Hey there! When we say someone is defeated, we are talking about that heavy feeling of losing a battle or a game. It is the end result of a struggle where the other side came out on top.
Think of it as the opposite of being a winner. You can be defeated in a physical sense, like in a sports match, or in a mental sense, like when you feel like you just cannot solve a difficult problem anymore.
It is a word that carries a bit of sadness or finality. It is not just about losing; it is about the state you are in after the loss. It is a powerful word used to describe both external events and internal feelings.
The word defeated comes from the Middle English word defeten, which finds its roots in the Old French desfait. This itself comes from the Latin disfactum, meaning 'undone'.
Isn't it fascinating? To be 'defeated' literally meant to be 'undone' or 'unmade'. It suggests that the person or group was stripped of their power or status by the conflict. Over centuries, the word evolved from simply meaning 'to undo' to specifically describing the outcome of a fight.
It is related to the word 'feat' (a notable achievement). While a 'feat' is something you successfully do, being 'defeated' is the failure of that action. It is a classic example of how prefixes like 'de-' change the meaning of a root word entirely.
You will hear defeated used in many ways. In sports, we often say a team 'looked defeated' when they stop trying because the score is too high. In politics, a 'defeated candidate' is one who did not get enough votes.
It is also common to use it to describe an internal state. If you have been working on a project for weeks and nothing works, you might say, 'I feel completely defeated.' This shows that the word is not just for battles; it is for life's challenges.
Common collocations include 'feeling defeated', 'a defeated army', and 'to look defeated'. It is a neutral-to-formal word, meaning it works well in both news reports and casual conversations with friends.
Idioms often use the concept of defeat to describe life. 1. Accept defeat: To admit you have lost. 2. Snatch defeat from the jaws of victory: To lose when you were almost winning. 3. Defeat the purpose: To make an action pointless. 4. A crushing defeat: A very heavy loss. 5. Admit defeat: To give up.
These phrases help us express complex feelings about failure. For example, if you say 'this rain really defeated the purpose of our picnic', you mean the picnic became pointless because of the weather. These are super useful for sounding more like a native speaker!
Defeated is an adjective derived from the past participle of the verb 'defeat'. It is pronounced /dɪˈfiːtɪd/ in both British and American English, with the stress on the second syllable.
It acts as a predicate adjective (e.g., 'The team was defeated') or an attributive adjective (e.g., 'The defeated soldier'). It does not have a plural form, as it is a state of being. Rhyming words include 'seated', 'heated', 'treated', 'repeated', and 'greeted'.
Remember that it is often followed by the preposition 'by'. You are defeated by an opponent or by a problem. This simple structure helps clarify exactly what caused the feeling of loss.
Fun Fact
It comes from the same roots as 'feat'!
Pronunciation Guide
dee-FEE-tid
dee-FEE-tid
Common Errors
- stressing the first syllable
- forgetting the 'd' at the end
- mispronouncing the 'ea' sound
Rhymes With
Difficulty Rating
Easy to read
Easy to use
Easy to say
Easy to hear
What to Learn Next
Prerequisites
Learn Next
پیشرفته
Grammar to Know
Past Participle as Adjective
The defeated team.
Passive Voice
He was defeated.
Linking Verbs
He felt defeated.
Examples by Level
The team was defeated.
The team lost.
Passive voice.
I was defeated.
I lost.
Simple past state.
They felt defeated.
They felt sad.
Linking verb.
The game was defeated.
The game was lost.
Passive.
We are defeated.
We lost.
Present state.
He looked defeated.
He seemed sad.
Linking verb.
She was defeated.
She lost.
Past state.
The plan was defeated.
The plan failed.
Passive.
The defeated team walked home.
He felt defeated by the hard math test.
The army was defeated in the war.
They were defeated by a better team.
Don't feel defeated yet!
The defeated candidate gave a speech.
She looked defeated after the race.
The project was defeated by lack of time.
He felt completely defeated by the constant pressure.
The defeated soldiers returned to their homes.
Despite being defeated, they played well.
The bill was defeated in the parliament.
She refused to feel defeated by her illness.
The defeated champion retired from the sport.
It is hard to watch a defeated friend.
The team left the field looking defeated.
The army suffered a crushing and total defeat, leaving them feeling utterly defeated.
He felt defeated by the sheer magnitude of the task ahead.
The motion was defeated by a narrow margin in the assembly.
She wore a defeated expression as she walked out of the meeting.
There is no shame in being defeated by a superior opponent.
The defeated party accepted the results with grace.
He was a man who had been defeated by life's circumstances.
The proposal was defeated, much to the disappointment of the staff.
The once-mighty empire looked defeated and weary after years of conflict.
She felt a sense of defeated resignation as the final results were announced.
The defeated spirit of the population was palpable in the quiet streets.
He was defeated by his own hubris rather than by any external force.
The argument was defeated by a more logical and persuasive counter-point.
Despite the odds, she refused to accept a defeated outlook on the future.
The defeated ideology struggled to find a foothold in the new society.
His posture was that of a man who had been defeated by time itself.
The landscape itself seemed to mirror his internal state—defeated, barren, and silent.
History is often written by the victors, leaving the defeated to remain in the shadows.
He possessed a quiet, defeated dignity that commanded respect even in failure.
The defeated king retreated into exile, his legacy shattered.
One must distinguish between being defeated in battle and being defeated in spirit.
The system was defeated by its own inherent contradictions.
She navigated the ruins of her career with a defeated, yet calm, resolve.
The defeated forces retreated, leaving behind the remnants of their ambition.
ترکیبهای رایج
Idioms & Expressions
"admit defeat"
to give up
I admit defeat, you win!
neutral"snatch defeat from the jaws of victory"
to lose when winning
They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
idiomatic"defeat the purpose"
to make useless
That defeats the purpose.
casual"a bitter defeat"
a painful loss
It was a bitter defeat.
neutral"concede defeat"
to formally accept loss
He conceded defeat early.
formal"taste defeat"
to experience losing
They tasted defeat today.
literaryEasily Confused
similar sound
defected = left country, defeated = lost
He defected to the other side vs He was defeated.
similar sound
deferred = put off
Payment was deferred.
similar sound
defied = resisted
He defied the law.
similar sound
defended = protected
He defended his home.
Sentence Patterns
Subject + was + defeated + by + agent
The army was defeated by the enemy.
Subject + felt + defeated
She felt defeated.
The + defeated + noun
The defeated team cried.
Subject + looked + defeated
He looked defeated.
Subject + seemed + defeated
They seemed defeated.
خانواده کلمه
Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
مرتبط
How to Use It
7
Formality Scale
اشتباهات رایج
Defeat is a verb/noun; defeated is the adjective.
Defected means to leave a country; defeated means to lose.
Needs the past participle form.
You feel defeated, not feel defeat.
Double 'e' after 'def'.
Tips
DE-FEAT
Think of losing your feet to run.
Sports
Use it to describe the losing team.
Politics
Used for election losers.
Passive
Often used with 'was' or 'were'.
Stress
Stress the second syllable.
Spelling
Don't forget the second 'e'.
Origins
Means 'undone'.
Context
Read sports news.
Preposition
Followed by 'by'.
Emotion
Use it for personal failure.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
DE-FEAT: You lost your FEET to run!
Visual Association
A runner sitting on the track looking sad.
Word Web
چالش
Write 3 sentences about a time you felt defeated.
ریشه کلمه
Middle English/Old French
Original meaning: undone
بافت فرهنگی
None, but can be sensitive in political contexts.
Used often in sports and politics.
Practice in Real Life
Real-World Contexts
Sports
- defeated in the final
- soundly defeated
- the defeated side
Politics
- defeated candidate
- defeated in the polls
- concede defeat
Work
- defeated by the workload
- feeling defeated
- a defeated attempt
Games
- defeated in battle
- defeated the boss
- defeated by the puzzle
Conversation Starters
"How do you handle being defeated?"
"Have you ever felt defeated by a task?"
"What is the best way to recover from being defeated?"
"Do you think being defeated is good for learning?"
"Who is the most defeated person you know?"
Journal Prompts
Write about a time you felt defeated.
How do you bounce back after being defeated?
Is it possible to learn from being defeated?
Describe a fictional character who was defeated.
سوالات متداول
8 سوالIt is the past participle of the verb 'defeat', but used as an adjective here.
Yes, that is the verb form.
Mostly, yes.
Victorious.
Yes, if it fails a task.
It is neutral.
D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D.
Yes.
خودت رو بسنج
The team was ___.
They lost.
What does defeated mean?
It means losing.
Defeated is the same as victorious.
They are opposites.
Word
معنی
Synonyms and antonyms.
The team was defeated.
امتیاز: /5
Summary
To be defeated is to experience the end of a struggle through loss, yet it is often a stepping stone to future growth.
- Means to have lost.
- Used for games and feelings.
- Opposite of victorious.
- Common in sports and politics.
DE-FEAT
Think of losing your feet to run.
Sports
Use it to describe the losing team.
Politics
Used for election losers.
Passive
Often used with 'was' or 'were'.
