as in applicants
one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award
each candidate for town council was allowed to speak at the candidates' forum
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Recent Examples of candidates
The mayor is banking on his popularity with working class New Yorkers and his antipathy towards Israel to put his candidates over the top.
—
Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 19 June 2026
Part of it is Republican candidates trying to appease independent voters.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 18 June 2026
Reynoso, the current Brooklyn borough president, previously co-founded the New Kings Democrats, a group of insurgent candidates who challenged the Brooklyn Democratic establishment in the twenty-tens.
—Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
The same network has spent heavily on a roster of pro-crypto Black candidates.
—Tonya M. Evans, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Democrats and independents are divided between two candidates running against Republican Kurt Alme in Montana’s Senate race, according to a poll first shared with Semafor from Public Opinion Strategies.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 18 June 2026
The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs did not consider women candidates, though the Mercury 13 effort, not led by NASA, showed that women could pass similar training tests to the official Mercury astronauts.
—Margaret Landis, The Conversation, 18 June 2026
But Jaune Little, director of recruiting services at the human resources company Insperity, says some entry-level jobs have been eliminated and teens now compete with more experienced candidates for the remaining ones.
—ABC News, 18 June 2026
Morgan and Tilis have other potential extensions to sort out over the next few months, as cornerback Mike Jackson and quarterback Bryce Young are among potential candidates for new deals.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 12 June 2026
Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 19 June 2026
Part of it is Republican candidates trying to appease independent voters.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 18 June 2026
Reynoso, the current Brooklyn borough president, previously co-founded the New Kings Democrats, a group of insurgent candidates who challenged the Brooklyn Democratic establishment in the twenty-tens.
—Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
The same network has spent heavily on a roster of pro-crypto Black candidates.
—Tonya M. Evans, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Democrats and independents are divided between two candidates running against Republican Kurt Alme in Montana’s Senate race, according to a poll first shared with Semafor from Public Opinion Strategies.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 18 June 2026
The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs did not consider women candidates, though the Mercury 13 effort, not led by NASA, showed that women could pass similar training tests to the official Mercury astronauts.
—Margaret Landis, The Conversation, 18 June 2026
But Jaune Little, director of recruiting services at the human resources company Insperity, says some entry-level jobs have been eliminated and teens now compete with more experienced candidates for the remaining ones.
—ABC News, 18 June 2026
Morgan and Tilis have other potential extensions to sort out over the next few months, as cornerback Mike Jackson and quarterback Bryce Young are among potential candidates for new deals.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for candidates
Noun
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Jordan remembers one owner who accepted a tenant who had been outbid by other applicants but agreed to build out the closets at their own cost.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
17 June 2026
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Michael Bekesha, one of the attorneys who initially sued the City of Evanston on behalf of six plaintiffs in May 2024, said in an interview that applicants weren’t required to demonstrate that they were specifically harmed by the City of Evanston, leaving race as the only criteria.—
Safiyah Riddle,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
Next, your votes whittled the field of contenders to the Top 10 picks.—
Heidi Finley,
Charlotte Observer,
12 June 2026
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The more teams that are legitimate playoff contenders each year in that conference, the better.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Political history is littered with hopefuls who took strong partisan positions during primaries, then tried to tack to the center during the general election—sometimes successfully, sometimes not.—
Erin Vanderhoof,
Vanity Fair,
17 June 2026
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Politicos and hopefuls, seeing others’ pins on display, brought theirs in as a form of competition.—
A.D. Quig,
Chicago Tribune,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Candidates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/candidates. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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