CONTENDER Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

contender

noun

kən-ˈten-dər

Definition of contender

as in candidate

one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award a strong contender for the mayoral position

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

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 contender Statewide Democratic contenders delivered fiery appeals, recording artist Janelle Monáe brought a bass-thumping performance and the Clark Atlanta University marching band nearly brought down the house. — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 29 Oct. 2026 Lamont and Republican gubernatorial contender Ryan Fazio, both from the affluent Fairfield County suburb of Greenwich, share the conviction that taxing the rich would spark an exodus of wealthy households from Connecticut. — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 29 Oct. 2026 The Panthers enter Saturday as double-digit underdogs against a 6-1 Liberty team that sits among the conference’s top contenders. — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026 Todd Golden had already retained enough talent for his Florida team to be a contender for its second national championship in three years. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for contender

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contender

Noun

If El-Sayed loses, there will be a fight over blame between Democrats who spent tens of millions of dollars to support him and progressives who’ll argue that the party establishment can’t be trusted when leftist candidates win a nomination.

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 2 Nov. 2026
John James and Mike Rogers, while both Republicans, are very different political candidates running markedly different campaigns against two very different opponents.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of candidate

Noun

For The Uninterested Woman Dating Show, Navarrette hilariously played Dane, one of the f*ckboy contestants, along with Jane Wickline and Sarah Sherman.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2026
Since nobody was banished, host Alan Cumming then forced the contestants back to the Roundtable the very next morning, and this time the table followed Victor’s lead and banished Tomica by a 10-2 vote.

— Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of contestant

Noun

Netanyahu's main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, said Likud was trying to delegitimize the results.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Oct. 2026
An executive for an NBA team said rivals were quickly monitoring whether the Thunder’s position would change in light of how much their rotation had been depleted only a week into the season.

— Andrew Greif, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of rival

Noun

Democrat Wes Moore won reelection as Maryland's governor after defeating Republican challenger Dan Cox, CBS News projected Tuesday.

— CBS Baltimore, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna defeated challenger and former Sheriff Alex Villanueva by a wide margin in his bid for reelection Tuesday, with the Associated Press calling the race Tuesday night for the incumbent.

— Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026