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
Frenchie's flameout was epic and hilarious, Derek X was astute and entertaining, and Claire easily could have been a serious contender on another season.
—
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
Cleveland, which has won 15 of 20 overall, will go for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon in this matchup of American League contenders.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 4 June 2026
Grier was a Heisman contender for a while.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026
The list of contenders is long but starts with Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims Jr.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for contender
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
Cleveland, which has won 15 of 20 overall, will go for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon in this matchup of American League contenders.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 4 June 2026
Grier was a Heisman contender for a while.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026
The list of contenders is long but starts with Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant and Marvin Mims Jr.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for contender
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contender
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Selective non-prosecution of antitrust cases will lead to anticompetitive mergers, collusion between competitors, and monopoly abuses.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
8 June 2026
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
These two great rivals never raced each other again.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
-
In the span of a week, the Golden State Valkyries and Indiana Fever have seemingly become rivals.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Republican challenger Steve Hilton trails Becerra by less than one percentage point as ballot counting continues.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
6 June 2026
-
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 11 Jun. 2026.
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