adj Behaving like an opponent; hostile and combative.
- 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.
— Matt Bai, Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds (2012)
- The White Paper therefore aims to tackle complexity rather then ownership of the railways, and to eliminate "the adversarial relationships between operators, suppliers, NR and government".
— , Network News: Simplification, not nationalisation (2021)
adj (law) Describing a system in which opposing sides present evidence and arguments, with the court itself taking little part.
- Canada uses an adversarial system of criminal justice, whereas France uses an inquisitorial model.
