dark horses

noun

plural of dark horse
1
as in stalking horses

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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
  • Samsung has been monitoring where certain departing employees went — to signal to remaining staff that moving to competitors would be difficult — according to a former employee.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026
  • But that seems like a far cry from the adversarial or defensive missions Shield Space and its competitors imagine.
    — Mark Piesing, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • The Rams still managed to rack up 513 yards of offense on the Broncos, including several big plays in which a Rams receiver was wide open, or several Bronco defenders missed tackles that turned a short gain into a big play.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Three plays later, he was called for a shoving a player at the end of a play.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of plays
Noun
  • Keep scrolling to shop 14 favorites that are guaranteed to fill your home with a little Christmas magic—all for under $100.
    — Kate Boswell, Southern Living, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Canadian rock favorites Nickelback start on the chart podium with Everything Under The Sun (Virgin Music Group/Inertia), their 11th studio album.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • Cut Week will mark the biggest elimination in The Voice history, when each coach will send two singers straight through to Live Shows as five more contestants battle for one remaining spot on each team.
    — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Uninterested Woman Game Show A classic game show premise, where our contestants are three scuzzy-looking men (Inde Navarrette, Jane Wickline, and Sarah Sherman) who really cannot just leave a married lesbian named Kelly (Saidah Belo-Osagie) alone.
    — Rima Parikh, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • Competitive grants should support strong alternatives, including partnerships with effective schools and programs serving midcareer entrants.
    — Ilya Shapiro, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • And secondly, since investors are now recognizing the worsening launch crisis that Ars has been writing about for months, there is apparently capital to be raised for new entrants into the medium-lift launch market.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 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
  • There are five of these entries, at 18-, 28-, 34-, 41- and 53-Across.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Dodge will once again give the Cup Series four manufacturers, joining Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota in fielding entries to compete in a 36-race schedule that begins in mid-February and crowns a champion in early November.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of entries
Noun
  • There’s been a lot of talk about candidates being authentic, being relatable.
    — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Other smaller-name candidates also saw their petitions challenged.
    — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 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.

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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 10 Nov. 2026.

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