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
Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll.
—
Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 11 Sep. 2025
Her comments come as Democrats face a leadership crossroads in Washington, with long-serving figures under scrutiny and younger candidates pushing for change.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025
Raki McGregor, who also serves as the board chair of Mecklenburg County’s workforce development board Charlotte Works, recently made waves by publicly supporting candidates for CMS school board before his tenure as a CMS consultant was up.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
Richard Linklater’s French-language black-and-white film Nouvelle Vague, paying tribute to the French New Wave movement, initially looked like one of the strongest candidates for the honor.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
Municipal races in Boston are nonpartisan and candidates appear on the same ballot no matter what party they are affiliated with.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
These qualities have to be innate to the candidates because they can’t be taught.
—Jack McCullough, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Republican candidates for governor say yes, but another likely candidate declined to say.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025
This week, AfD state deputy leader Kay Gottschalk said two reserve candidates also died, in an interview with Politico's Berlin Playbook Podcast.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 11 Sep. 2025
Her comments come as Democrats face a leadership crossroads in Washington, with long-serving figures under scrutiny and younger candidates pushing for change.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025
Raki McGregor, who also serves as the board chair of Mecklenburg County’s workforce development board Charlotte Works, recently made waves by publicly supporting candidates for CMS school board before his tenure as a CMS consultant was up.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
Richard Linklater’s French-language black-and-white film Nouvelle Vague, paying tribute to the French New Wave movement, initially looked like one of the strongest candidates for the honor.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
Municipal races in Boston are nonpartisan and candidates appear on the same ballot no matter what party they are affiliated with.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
These qualities have to be innate to the candidates because they can’t be taught.
—Jack McCullough, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Republican candidates for governor say yes, but another likely candidate declined to say.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025
This week, AfD state deputy leader Kay Gottschalk said two reserve candidates also died, in an interview with Politico's Berlin Playbook Podcast.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for candidates
Noun
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For applicants, this begins with ensuring current compliance by filing all required returns, paying any outstanding liabilities, and meeting foreign asset and accounts information reporting obligations.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The applicants also include Black Arts MKE, Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Optimist Theatre, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Woodland Pattern Book Center.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Yet Harris lingers near the top of the 2028 Democratic presidential contenders in most polling because the party lacks viable alternatives with comparable name identification.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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With seven races remaining in the Xfinity Series season, Eckes is ready to play spoiler and steal a victory from one of the playoff contenders.—
Joseph Wolkin,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One of the highlights of Golden Bachelor season one was seeing the empowering women who came on national television looking for a second or perhaps third chance at love breakout to stardom, and a teaser (below) shows that this new batch of hopefuls in their golden years is just as impressive.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
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Jim Walden, independent candidate for New York City mayor, on Tuesday dropped out of the race while calling on other hopefuls to get behind the second-most popular choice in an effort to defeat New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Candidates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/candidates. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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