Combatted

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have participated in a conflict or struggle against an adversary or challenge
2. To have engaged in a fight to counteract or resist an opposing force or issue
3. Took part in a physical or strategic fight against an enemy or opposing force

Etymology: "Combatted" is the past tense and past participle of "combat," which entered English in the 16th century, borrowed from Middle French "combat." That French noun was formed from the verb "combatre," which came down through Old French from Vulgar Latin "combattere," built from Latin "com-" meaning "with" and "battuere," meaning "to beat or strike." So the core idea is striking together, a notion that still lives in the English sense of two sides hitting each other. The verb "combat" was itself a later development, formed from the noun, and "combatted" follows the regular pattern of English verbs ending in a stressed consonant-and-vowel-and-consonant shape that doubles the final consonant before "-ed." Its meaning has moved from literal physical blows toward the broader sense of struggling against something, whether an enemy, a disease, or a problem, which is how the form is most often used today.

Synonyms: fought, battled, contended

Antonyms: surrendered, yielded