as in competitors
one who strives for the same thing as another
the third-party challenger in the presidential election
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Recent Examples of challengers
DeGette has defeated primary challengers before, but this time her opponents have lined up long endorsement rosters.
—
Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
And Pagano Pagano and Psycho Clown continued the theme of abrupt openings with stereo suicide dives on the challengers.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
With no challengers present, delegates gathered at Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center approved Flanagan’s endorsement by acclamation rather than ballots.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 30 May 2026
Horvath has raised about $190,000 this year for her reelection effort, far outpacing her three challengers and leaving her with nearly $413,000 on hand on May 16.
—Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
District 4 There are two challengers vying for the seat.
—Kristy Hutchings, Daily News, 29 May 2026
Tillis himself is facing a handful of longshot right-wing primary challengers, with others mulling whether to enter the race.
—Andrew Solender, Axios, 9 Apr. 2025
Marte is facing a half dozen challengers in June’s primary, including Jess Coleman, a Manhattan attorney and community board member.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2025
The Democratic Party candidate is expected to be Lee, a powerful party leader who faces no major challengers inside the party.
—Time, 8 Apr. 2025
Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
And Pagano Pagano and Psycho Clown continued the theme of abrupt openings with stereo suicide dives on the challengers.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
With no challengers present, delegates gathered at Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center approved Flanagan’s endorsement by acclamation rather than ballots.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 30 May 2026
Horvath has raised about $190,000 this year for her reelection effort, far outpacing her three challengers and leaving her with nearly $413,000 on hand on May 16.
—Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
District 4 There are two challengers vying for the seat.
—Kristy Hutchings, Daily News, 29 May 2026
Tillis himself is facing a handful of longshot right-wing primary challengers, with others mulling whether to enter the race.
—Andrew Solender, Axios, 9 Apr. 2025
Marte is facing a half dozen challengers in June’s primary, including Jess Coleman, a Manhattan attorney and community board member.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2025
The Democratic Party candidate is expected to be Lee, a powerful party leader who faces no major challengers inside the party.
—Time, 8 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for challengers
Noun
-
The company’s shares are down 16% year to date as investors worry its businesses are being eaten up by competitors and that Copilot’s user base leaves a lot to be desired.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
2 June 2026
-
While data center hardware has historically been a boom/bust business, the bull case now is that HPE and its competitors have worked to reduce that cyclicality.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Ferrandis, 31 and from France, is considered the longshot of the seven contenders.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
-
Across 2025-26, there are few outstanding contenders — a reflection upon, at least as far as the Premier League is concerned, a Newcastle campaign riddled with inconsistency and underperformance (for the most part).—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Fans also noticed that the show didn’t tag any of its contestants’ Instagram handles in this year’s announcement and that comments are already restricted on the Islanders’ personal pages, leading to speculation that the show has put new social media safeguards in place to alleviate harassment.—
Angela Yang,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
-
The pageant, for 14- to 20-year-old participants, held its fourth edition in early May with contestants from 21 countries.—
Sarah Moreno
May 31,
Miami Herald,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
With so many of his friends and rivals stuck on shore, Botin acknowledged his lead in the standings didn’t give him the usual sense of satisfaction.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
-
Shares of psychedelic drug developers such as Compass Pathways and other rivals tied to the space rallied following the announcement, with Wall Street analysts arguing the order could legitimize an industry long viewed as fringe.—
Brandon Gomez,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Challengers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/challengers. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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