COMPETING Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

competing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of competing

as in competitive

having or marked by a strong desire to win or be better than others The competing salespeople were all trying to lure the same customers.

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

competing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of compete

as in contending

to engage in a contest prizefighters competing for the world heavyweight championship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 competing

Adjective

Truth is a public good Politics is not a seminar in absolute clarity, and competing claims are always part of the process. — Stephanie A, The Conversation, 27 Jan. 2026 Like the Joker, O’Leary tends to give competing origin stories for his nickname. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026

Verb

This mystery has tantalized scientists since Charles Darwin mused on it in 1871, spawning no shortage of competing theories about the origins of Earth’s biology around four billion years ago. — Philip Ball, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026 With universities competing to pay athletes millions of dollars, some states now are propping up their strained sports budgets in ways not previously seen. — David A. Lieb, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for competing

Recent Examples of Synonyms for competing

Adjective

Johnson County, with Iowa City and its teeming suburbs, and Scott County's economically diverse cities of Davenport and Bettendorf help make the district among the most competitive in the country.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Paramount has insisted that the WBD deal is pro-competitive, and has asserted that the deal’s opponents are driven by political concerns, including the prospect of CNN changing hands.

— Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of competitive

Verb

Boston Bruins The Bruins have an average at best roster and farm system, and trying to win while rebuilding on the fly is something that usually backfires more often than leading to a contending team.

— Corey Pronman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Kiley turned the criticism around, contending that his willingness to work with both parties was a strength.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of contending

Adjective

The executions, announced Sunday, triggered condemnations by rights groups in the North African country that is divided between rival administrations, each backed by a set of militias and foreign governments.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
The governor was embroiled in a scandal in 2023 involving the Sinaloa cartel, in which his name was published in a letter written by a then-Sinaloa cartel capo whom leaders of a rival faction of the cartel had kidnapped.

— CBS News, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of rival

Verb

Body camera footage shows that Jonah Neal did not pose a threat that warranted deadly force when a member of the federal crime-fighting task force in Memphis shot him in late May, according to a lawyer representing his family.

— Juliana Kim, NPR, 23 Aug. 2026
Surveillance video obtained by ABC7 New York shows two men fighting in the street before gunshots ring out, and a vehicle swerves around the moped, appearing to flee the scene.

— Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of fighting

Verb

Offering a 35% incentive aimed at stiffening up jobs here and enticing post-production to relocate to the Golden State, AB 2319 is racing toward a vote in the state Senate by next week once the bill is in final shape.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026
In this dawning age of artificial intelligence, tech companies are racing to train and run their large language models using massive data centers that guzzle electricity and strain resources.

— Arielle Frommer, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of racing

Adjective

That the thirteen-year-old boy soprano from Harlem already knew a thing or two about hustling—that street precocity did not surface in his act.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026
For one of the men in particular, the type of hustling, defiant gay life that John Rechy describes in his nonfiction book The Sexual Outlaw is pivotal.

— Emma Sarappo, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of hustling

Verb

Emery knows that his side are robust when battling adversity yet need to find a way to rectify blind spots in their game, such as the tendency to drift through certain matches and against specific tactical challenges.

— Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
And the refineries that are unscathed have had trouble shipping because of the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and the United States are battling for control.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of battling

Browse Nearby Words

competes

competing

competition

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“Competing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/competing. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of competing

adjective

verb

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