dark horses

noun

plural of dark horse
1
as in stalking horses

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in long shots

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dark horses
  1. competitors
  2. plays
  3. favorites
  4. contestants
  5. entrants
  6. qualifiers
  7. entries
  8. candidates
Noun
  • The creditors’ lawsuit claims that Kenny engineered a situation in which Thai Union could control Red Lobster’s seafood purchasing—cutting out competitors and charging higher prices for shrimp.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Additional features, such as Conversation Awareness, Transparency, and Live Translation, further set them apart from competitors.
    — Cierra Cowan, PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • Clark and Reese sat beside each other throughout the final round and connected on pivotal plays during the title game.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The Cyclones then went 74 yards in six plays, with Flora scoring from 2 yards out for the final margin.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of plays
Noun
  • Diners will also find familiar favorites, too, like sticky Korean ribs, seafood towers, spicy Calabrian pasta and a variety of steaks and other sushi.
    — Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Florida would never recover after that, as a rash of injuries to other star players in addition to their captain saw the Panthers go from Cup favorites to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • Backstage, ten makeup artists, ten hairstylists, and nine dressers fuss over the Swans, the nine final contestants of this surgical interpretation of Cinderella.
    — Joan Kron, Allure, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Among the new teenage contestants are Neelsa Boyce, portrayed by SNL newcomer Saidah Belo-Osagie; Veronika Slowikowska as Isla; Sarah Sherman as Jamie; Jane Wickline as Duff; and fellow newcomer Grace Reiter as Margle.
    — Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • That’s five major entrants choosing banking infrastructure as their on-ramp into regulated onchain finance, alongside Coinbase choosing exchange infrastructure as its own.
    — Ivan Kan, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Cold water and hot rooms alone may not be enough to differentiate new entrants.
    — Ashley Lynch, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of entrants
Noun
  • For the first time in quite a while, the western and eastern Europe qualifiers have been merged into one super qualifier, featuring top teams from both regions.
    — Mike Stubbs, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Definition of qualifiers
Noun
  • Asian cinema accounts for 96 films, women directed 41, and 20 are official entries for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In all of the sketchbook entries reproduced here, Ross seems to offer a bridge between the representation of emptiness and the lived sensation of it.
    — Ryan Sullivan, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of entries
Noun
  • Forty-four prospective candidates have submitted applications to become the next permanent superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, according to the city agency tasked with vetting those bids.
    — Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Watchmaking entrants will reinterpret the in-house self-winding automatic 1847 MC movement through that lens, while jewelry candidates are invited to translate an animal’s presence into a brooch.
    — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of candidates
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.

Browse Nearby Words

dark horse
dark horses
darkish
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Cite this Entry

“Dark horses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dark%20horses. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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