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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 competitors are assessed, and if one is suspected, the driver is pulled from competition.
    — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Starting at $1,999, the Duo is priced in line with competitors but lower than Wall Street expected.
    — Jeff Marks,Zev Fima, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • The Eagles are shifting away from their usual vertical, power run-blocking schemes to a wide-zone blocking scheme, while making plays less predictable by making run and pass plays look similar.
    — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, first-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb will call plays for a Denver Broncos team that reached the AFC title game.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of plays
Noun
  • Fan-favorites are set to return, including the FlowRider surf simulator, the Crown’s Edge zip line and skywalk, Adrenaline Peak rock-climbing wall, Lost Dunes mini-golf course and sports courts.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
  • So plenty of shopping and old-town favorites such as the Loos American Bar, the high-stepping horses of the Spanish Riding School, the Albertina museum (but ask directions for the new Albertina Modern, a little further away).
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • The stakes are even higher for this year’s Dancing With the Stars contestants with a double elimination during season 35 premiere week.
    — Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The season will run as a weekly series with an all-celebrity cast of 32 contestants, a step up from the show’s Japanese debut.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • The $4 million will be invested over the next three years in supporting new entrants and re-skilling mid-career professionals.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The energy apprenticeship pipeline only had 45,000 entrants in 2024, but really needs 65,000 professionals flowing in yearly to close the labor supply gap.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 24 Aug. 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
  • Their final-third entries were almost identical across the five channels of the pitch, which helped Bukayo Saka (14), Martin Odegaard (15), Gabriel Jesus (11) and Gabriel Martinelli (15) all score more than 10 league goals each.
    — Art de Roché, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • According to construction paperwork filed in September, the garage will have entries on 25th Street, Ellis Avenue, and an alley south of Ellis Street, as well as 2,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
    — Emily Holshouser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of entries
Noun
  • The person added that Fairshake has already spent more than $30 million on Democratic candidates this cycle.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • This strategy also helps employers get to know phenomenal candidates whose applications are going to accidentally be rejected by the ATS and AI systems.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 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 16 Sep. 2026.

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