versus

Definition

Against; in opposition to.

Etymology

From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Example Sentences

• "It is the Packers versus the Steelers in the Super Bowl."
• "In polling by the Pew Research Center in November 2008, fully half the respondents thought the two parties would cooperate more in the coming year, versus only 36 percent who thought the climate would grow more adversarial."
• "If, for example, we select random people entering a workout gym, versus if we pick random people entering a hospital, we will get very different samples."

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