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
Five council members are thought to be contenders for the next election.
—
Charlotte Observer, 7 May 2026
Train Dreams was a key contender this past awards season after its debut at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Netflix acquired it.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 6 May 2026
Hailing from Germany, casting director Haun recent credits include Paweł Pawlikowski Cannes 2026 Palme d’Or contender Fatherland as well as Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness and Pablo Larraín’s Spencer.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 6 May 2026
See IndieWire’s full list of 2026 Emmy predictions, complete with frontrunners, contenders, and long shots on our website.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for contender
Charlotte Observer, 7 May 2026
Train Dreams was a key contender this past awards season after its debut at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Netflix acquired it.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 6 May 2026
Hailing from Germany, casting director Haun recent credits include Paweł Pawlikowski Cannes 2026 Palme d’Or contender Fatherland as well as Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness and Pablo Larraín’s Spencer.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 6 May 2026
See IndieWire’s full list of 2026 Emmy predictions, complete with frontrunners, contenders, and long shots on our website.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for contender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contender
Noun
-
Two other candidates, tech entrepreneur Adam Miller and community organizer Rae Huang, criticized NBC4’s decision to exclude them from the debate.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
-
Several of the candidates have been arrested for the posts.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
This dynamic creates a survival-of-the-fittest scenario where smaller companies — who can’t afford to sit on piles of unsold metals — might be forced into the arms of larger competitors.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
4 May 2026
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Travis Madeira, a fourth-generation lobsterman who founded the lobster-shipping business LobsterBoys with his brother, makes about 80% of his sales to Americans, unlike some competitors who primarily export.—
Matt Sedensky,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
America's Next Top Model season 8 contestant Jael Strauss, 34, died two months after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, in December 2018.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
2 May 2026
-
As with past years, each group of contestants had a practice round in which no one was eliminated.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 May 2026
Noun
-
Beating their cross-state rivals — a similarly surprising playoff team — is one thing.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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Directed by Juan Pablo Arias Munoz, a prodigal daughter rejoins her family at their farm during a difficult time, as her ailing father faces both a terminal diagnosis and mounting pressure from rivals.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Two Lake County Council races have a deep pool of Democratic challengers, while three council members finish out their last terms on the dais.—
Michelle L. Quinn,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026
-
Human rights attorney Faizah Malik, Park’s lone challenger, took in her own impressive haul of $454,000.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contender.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contender. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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