against

against , prep

❢ Against is translated by contre when it means physically touching or in opposition to : against the wall = contre le mur ; he's against independence = il est contre l'indépendance ; the fight against inflation = la lutte contre l'inflation.

If you have any doubts about how to translate a fixed phrase or expression beginning with against (against the tide, against the clock, against the grain, against all odds etc) you should consult the appropriate noun entry (tide, clock, grain, odds etc).against often appears in English with certain verbs (turn against, compete against, discriminate against, stand out against etc). For translations you should consult the appropriate verb entry (turn, compete, discriminate, stand etc).against often appears in English after certain nouns and adjectives (protection against, a match against, a law against, effective against etc). For translations consult the appropriate noun or adjective entry (protection, match, law, effective etc). For particular usages see below.

1 (physically) contre ; against the wall contre le mur ;

2 (objecting to) I'm against it je suis contre ; I have nothing against it je n'ai rien contre ; 100 votes for and 20 votes against 100 votes pour et 20 votes contre ; to be against the idea s'opposer à l'idée, être contre l'idée ; to be against doing ne pas être d'accord pour faire, être contre l'idée de faire ;

3 (counter to) to go ou be against aller à l'encontre de [tradition, policy] ; the conditions are against us les conditions ne nous sont pas favorables ; the decision went against us la décision ne nous a pas été favorable ; to pedal against the wind pédaler contre le vent ; ⇒ up ;

4 (in opposition to) contre ; the war against sb la guerre contre qn ; the fight against inflation la lutte contre l'inflation ; Smith against Jones Smith contre Jones ;

5 (compared to) the pound fell against the dollar la livre a baissé par rapport au dollar ; the graph shows age against earnings le graphique représente la courbe des salaires en fonction de l'âge ; ⇒ as ;

6 (in contrast to) sur ; the blue looks pretty against the yellow le bleu est joli sur le jaune ; against a background of sur un fond de ; against the light à contre-jour ; to stand out against [houses, trees etc] se détacher sur [sky, sunset] ;

7 (in exchange for) contre, en échange de ; against a voucher from the airline contre un or en échange d'un bon distribué par la compagnie aérienne.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.