Outmatched

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Being overshadowed in skills or resources by another, which results in an inability to succeed in competition
2. Being unable to measure up to someone else's strength or intellect, often leading to defeat in contests
3. Having skills or power inferior to an opponent, leading to disadvantage in contests

Etymology: "Outmatched" combines "out," meaning beyond or surpassing, with "match," which once meant something more personal than a contest. In Old English, "gemæcca" meant a mate, a companion, or a person of equal standing, and the word kept that sense of a peer for centuries. To be someone's match was to stand beside them as an equal. The sense of a contest grew out of that idea of equality. Two people who were well matched were evenly balanced in strength or skill, so a contest was a meeting of equals. To outmatch someone is to go beyond that equal footing, leaving them as the weaker party.

Synonyms: outclassed, overmatched, outperformed, surpassed, defeated

Antonyms: matched, equalled, paired, competed, rivaled