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a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent; enemy; foe.
a person, group, etc., that is an opponent in a contest; contestant.
the Adversary, the devil; Satan.
of or relating to an adversary.
involving adversaries, as plaintiff and defendant in a legal proceeding:
an adversary trial.
Contemporary Examples

The North Koreans are usually willing to talk for various reasons: to get aid, to divide their adversaries, to create confusion.
Should Obama Take North Korea’s Bait? Gordon G. Chang October 20, 2014

It can also mean a commitment to some kind of shared fate even with your adversaries.
The New Republican War Room Lee Siegel March 26, 2010

You and he were adversaries, but you were allied in a determination that the world should not be blown up.
Jackie Kennedy’s Letter to Khrushchev: My Last Nights in the White House Jacqueline Kennedy November 18, 2013

Our adversaries have the ability to attack the United States at any time.
War on Terror’s Next Phase: The Legal and Strategic Consequences P.J. Crowley, Amy Gaudion June 22, 2012

But with leaders of both allies and adversaries, a different story is developing.
McChrystal Must Go James Hoge June 21, 2010

Historical Examples

Caesar’s desire was to rid you of adversaries even against your will.
A Thorny Path [Per Aspera], Complete Georg Ebers

It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.
United States Presidents’ Inaugural Speeches Various

We have, however, still further cause for apprehension from the division of our party, and the union of our adversaries.
History Of Florence And Of The Affairs Of Italy Niccolo Machiavelli

For this it is which makes its adversaries say rhyme is not natural!
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine – Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845 Various

But the adversaries of the Reformation did not confine their cruel plots against its friends to Germany.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Vol 2 J. H. Merle D’Aubign

noun (pl) -saries
a person or group that is hostile to someone; enemy
an opposing contestant in a game or sport
adjective
the US term for adversarial (sense 2)
n.

mid-14c., aduersere, from Anglo-French adverser (13c.), Old French adversaire “adversary, opponent, enemy,” or directly from Latin adversarius “opponent, adversary, rival,” noun use of adjective meaning “opposite, hostile, contrary,” literally “turned toward one,” from adversus “turned against” (see adverse). The Latin word is glossed in Old English by wiðerbroca.

(Heb. satan), an opponent or foe (1 Kings 5:4; 11:14, 23, 25; Luke 13:17); one that speaks against another, a complainant (Matt. 5:25; Luke 12:58); an enemy (Luke 18:3), and specially the devil (1 Pet. 5:8).