1
as in candidate
one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award
a strong contender for the mayoral position
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in competitor
one who strives for the same thing as another
several contenders competing for the title of the city's best Italian restaurant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contender
Here are the leading contenders for full-time roles based on interviews with several sources at CBS News who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
—
Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
The Associated Press said Tuesday that Becerra and Republican contender Steve Hilton had cinched enough votes in last week’s primary to proceed to the November general election.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026
But his reign was brief, when he was bested by one of Wednesday's contenders after a $0 wager.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026
Honorable mention to Portugal, which should be a serious contender to win its first ever World Cup.
—Kellis Robinett, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for contender
Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
The Associated Press said Tuesday that Becerra and Republican contender Steve Hilton had cinched enough votes in last week’s primary to proceed to the November general election.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026
But his reign was brief, when he was bested by one of Wednesday's contenders after a $0 wager.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026
Honorable mention to Portugal, which should be a serious contender to win its first ever World Cup.
—Kellis Robinett, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for contender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contender
Noun
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The results will ease the concerns of some Democrats who worried about the possibility of a runoff between Kiley and Republican candidate Michael Stansfield, who was in second place until Friday.—
Mathew Miranda
June 9,
Sacbee.com,
10 June 2026
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Leading up to the election, for instance, the progressive first-time candidate was leading by as much as 66 percentage points in a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released in May.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Noun
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Selective non-prosecution of antitrust cases will lead to anticompetitive mergers, collusion between competitors, and monopoly abuses.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
8 June 2026
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The California smartphone maker has lagged behind its competitors in the AI race as tech companies pour hundreds of billions of dollars into advancing their chatbots and investing in data centers and other infrastructure.—
Queenie Wong,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Noun
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Higgins was among the first contestants announced for Dancing with the Stars' 35th season alongside Summer House star Ciara Miller.—
Chiara Kim,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
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Season 12 also marks the introduction of the best Big Brother addition ever with the Zingbot, a sassy wisecracking robot who shows up for the sole purpose of roasting the contestants.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 June 2026
Noun
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The comments section is filled with college football fans from all over the country calling the university's athletic department a bunch of clowns and hypocrites, but one Big 12 rival, the TCU Horned Frogs, put out a statement of their own in response to Tech's video.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
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Once celebrated as a breakthrough for Chinese AI startups taking on American rivals, Manus has become a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs looking to shed their Chinese image by relocating to countries such as Singapore.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
12 June 2026
Noun
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Republican challenger Steve Hilton trails Becerra by less than one percentage point as ballot counting continues.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
6 June 2026
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This is the first time, to my knowledge, that an incumbent mayor in the City of Angels would be running against a challenger whose campaign manager is God Almighty.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contender. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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