rival 1 of 3

1
as in equivalent
one that is equal to another in status, achievement, or value a design that is a rival to any produced by a professional graphic artist

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
3
as in competitor
one who strives for the same thing as another the four cities that are the top rivals for the site of the next Olympic Games

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

rival

2 of 3

adjective

rival

3 of 3

verb

as in to compete
to engage in a contest two longtime friends who have rivaled for the same things at every stage of their lives

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rival
Noun
Builders Vision represents a growing class of family offices with assets and headcounts that rival those of institutional investors. Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 1 May 2025 And look back at their rival saying goodbye to a season. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 1 May 2025
Adjective
Italian Husband is using the wedding as an excuse to bury the hatchet between his family and the rival mafiosi, apparently. Emma Specter, Vogue, 2 May 2025 Dante has been in a decades-long relationship with a man from a rival mob family. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 May 2025
Verb
Llama 4, Meta’s latest large language model, powers the Meta AI assistant and is designed to rival the latest AI models from OpenAI, Google, Deepseek and Anthropic, with improved reasoning, multilingual capabilities and efficiency. Reuters, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2025 Chinese tech giant Huawei is getting ready to test powerful, new AI chips that could rival those made by Nvidia (NVDA+0.77%), according to a new report. Kevin Ryan, Quartz, 28 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rival
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rival
Noun
  • Madrid’s lack of defensive intensity means their opponents can progress upfield with little fear at times, knowing that Ancelotti’s forward line does not provide their team-mates the protection that comes with pressing from the front.
    Mark Carey, New York Times, 10 May 2025
  • This approach will disarm an opponent’s ability to double-team and pack the paint while also providing the Sky more varied scoring options.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2025
Noun
  • However, the trucking company held up well compared to its competitors, with April tonnage estimates down 5.7 percent year over year—an improvement over 6 percent declines seen in January and February.
    Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 8 May 2025
  • Then, in August of 2012, the FDA directed Celgene to sell a small amount of Revlimid to a generic competitor.
    David Armstrong, ProPublica, 8 May 2025
Adjective
  • Like it or not, companies need to make tough decisions, including layoffs to remain competitive.
    Jack Kelly, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
  • Redick got into coaching, in part, to better channel his competitive urges.
    Jovan Buha, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Verb
  • Image Brian Zucker, 68, founder and chief executive of Human Capital Research Corporation, has been competing with EAB and RNL for years.
    Ron Lieber, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • Over time, Mogul is designed to integrate with the MoviePass app and the company is mulling eventually introducing a model in which users pay an entry fee to compete or pay a fee per transaction on the app.
    Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • Soon after, Trump questioned whether Russia’s President Vladimir Putin wanted peace, the latest sign that the US leader is losing patience with his Russian counterpart.
    Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 3 May 2025
  • Mexican brain rot characters have joined the mix, as have culturally specific counterparts from France, Germany and beyond.
    Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • Harvard has emerged as the Trump administration’s most high-profile foe after the White House’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism last month announced a freeze of more than $2 billion in its federal research funding.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
  • Previous victories Screwworms aren't a new foe for the US.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025
Noun
  • Parolin and Tagle are the two leading contenders on various betting sites, including Polymarket and Kalshi, as bettors wage millions on the papal election.
    Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
  • Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state under Francis and himself a leading contender to succeed him as pope, assumed the leadership of the proceedings as the senior cardinal under age 80.
    Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, competing services are on the launchpad, including from rival billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.
    Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Washington may face even greater competing crises today than in 2005, when Bush launched the country’s influenza strategy.
    Caitlin Rivers, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Rival.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rival. Accessed 16 May. 2025.

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