Synonyms of candidates

candidates

noun

plural of candidate

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• applicants
• contenders
• hopefuls
• aspirants
• prospects
• campaigners
• competitors
• nominees
• seekers
• contestants
• expectants
• entries
• qualifiers
• entrants
• appliers
• favorites
• claimants
• pretenders
• spoilers
• stalking horses
• running mates
• favorite sons
• crown princes
• dark horses

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• incumbents
• officeholders
• awardees
• inductees
• noncandidates
• honorees
• dropouts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of candidates

Wasserman Schultz was sharply criticized by Black community leaders and the other four candidates, who are all African American, for running in this district. — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026

Starting corners who have been speculated as potential trade candidates this summer around the NFL include Kansas City’s Kristian Fulton and Denver’s Riley Moss. — Jon MacHota, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Patriarchal norms are increasingly challenged by women empowered by progressive legislation that requires half of political parties’ candidates to be women and, at least on paper, guarantees women’s access to land ownership. — ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026

Independent groups spent millions more backing unsuccessful Republican candidates for governor Chris Carr and Brad Raffensperger, with interests ranging from Planned Parenthood to Georgia Realtors rounding out the top spenders. — David Wickert, AJC.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Hiring is one of the targets, and the FBI has issued specific warnings about deepfake candidates in remote interviews. — Kara Dennison, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026