champion 1 of 2

champion

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word champion different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of champion are advocate, back, support, and uphold. While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause.

championed the rights of children

When can advocate be used instead of champion?

The words advocate and champion can be used in similar contexts, but advocate stresses urging or pleading.

advocated prison reform

When might back be a better fit than champion?

Although the words back and champion have much in common, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling.

refusing to back the call for sanctions

When could support be used to replace champion?

In some situations, the words support and champion are roughly equivalent. However, support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given.

supports waterfront development

Where would uphold be a reasonable alternative to champion?

While the synonyms uphold and champion are close in meaning, uphold implies extended support given to something attacked.

upheld the legitimacy of the military action

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 champion
Noun
The win capped a weekend sweep for the reigning champion, as Verstappen secured pole position in both the sprint race and the grand prix, before winning both events while heading every lap across both days. Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025 And momentum is needed heading into next week as the Hornets prepare for the gold standard of the Big Sky with 19-time conference champion Montana coming to town for a Friday night special on ESPN. Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
Watching from the stands in Ostend that day against Madrid was Nick Swinnen, one of Brugge’s academy goalkeeping coaches, who had championed Lammens’ signing. Mark Critchley, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025 After staging myriad runway shows under its colonnade and championing its work, Erdem Moralioglu has become a member of the board of trustees of his favorite cultural institution, the British Museum. Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for champion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for champion
Noun
  • The conference is still likely in the driver’s seat as long as the champ gets through with two or fewer total losses, but that is anything but a guarantee.
    Eddie Timanus, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Last year’s Big 12 champs topped this year’s Big 12 front-runners 26-22 after Leavitt led a game-winning, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped with 34 seconds left, throwing the conference race into flux.
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Simonds is a proponent of patterned wallpaper, statement lighting, colorful tile, and more.
    Amanda Sims, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Now Guillermo del Toro — cinema’s biggest proponent of big-screen fantasy — has completed his two-and-a-half-hour version, an epic adaptation with a blockbuster budget, a stamp of auteurship, and decades spent ruminating on the relevance of Shelley’s text in the modern era.
    Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This year’s Animation Is Film Festival is all about advocating for the growing stature of the flourishing medium in the filmmaking capital of the world.
    Leia Mendoza, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
  • The Red Army Faction advocated for an immediate, armed revolution against the capitalist class in Japan.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Grand Slam winners get a colorful Grand Slam Award sticker.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Tony Award winner Doug Hughes will direct.
    Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Many of the president’s supporters have backed his moves to combat drug trade in the region, however, some Republicans, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, as well as many Democrats, have expressed concern over the president’s unilateral decisions.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
  • America’s farmers are among the president’s most dependable supporters.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes.
    Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
  • But school board votes on the SYDKIMYL contract did not factor into his decision about who to endorse, McGregor told WFAE in August.
    Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • One woman’s attempt to balance her own celebration while supporting her sister’s engagement has spiraled into a year-long feud.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
  • If elected, Dahle said his main priority is to ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources while supporting the district’s mission of providing high-quality education for all students.
    Talia McWright, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The prime exponents are Brentford, with whom Gronnemark has worked on a consultancy basis.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Young Thug is the purest exponent of mainstream rap’s melodic rap era.
    Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Champion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/champion. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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