ADJ
bitter, catastrophic, complete, comprehensive, crushing, decisive, devastating, disastrous, heavy, humiliating, ignominious, overwhelming, resounding, serious, stunning
The team's devastating defeat in the final match left fans disappointed for months.
narrow
The team suffered a narrow defeat in the final minutes of the championship game.
consecutive, successive | election, electoral, political | military
VERB + DEFEAT
accept, admit, concede
After losing the match, the team captain finally accepted defeat and congratulated the winners.
face
go down to, slump to, to suffer
Our soccer team suffered a disappointing defeat in the final match last weekend.
reverse
The team worked hard to reverse their earlier defeat in the championship final.
avoid
The team worked hard to avoid defeat against their strongest rivals last season.
inflict
The home team inflicted a surprising defeat on the league leaders last weekend.
end in | lead to
PREP
~ against
The team suffered a disappointing defeat against their rivals in the final match.
~ by
The team's defeat by their rivals ended their hopes of winning the championship.
PHRASES
defeat at the hands of sb
The small company faced defeat at the hands of a much larger competitor in the market.
ADV
comprehensively, convincingly, decisively, easily, heavily, soundly, totally
Our team was soundly defeated in yesterday's football match, losing by five goals.
narrowly
The candidate narrowly defeated her opponent in the election by just a few hundred votes.
eventually, finally, ultimately
PREP
by
The home team was defeated by their rivals in a thrilling match last weekend.