hopefuls

noun

plural of hopeful
as in candidates
one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award the three mayoral hopefuls are going to debate on local TV

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of hopefuls From the interstate to the eastern suburbs, Citrus Heights’ city council hopefuls are focused on Sunrise Mall. — Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026 During her time at the Mansion, Elle meets Anna (Depp), one of seven hopefuls vying to be Playmate of the Month. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026 Four other presidential hopefuls trail behind Lula and the younger Bolsanaro in the polls. — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026 The rise of social media does these overzealous Oscar hopefuls no favors. — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026 Complaints from students about deteriorating schools, teacher shortages and heavy class schedules have become the latest cause embraced by some presidential hopefuls. — ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026 Through the final weeks of the season, the Phillies were fighting tooth and nail to secure one of the NL Wild Card positions alongside other postseason hopefuls. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2026 The rebuilding Dolphins, who played a solid game Sunday, have now played two Super Bowl hopefuls — San Francisco and Kansas City — in their three games and there’s reason to believe Miami is improving. — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 27 Sep. 2026 Toronto leadoff hitter Brett Bateman reached base and scored three times, twice knocked in by Nathan Lukes, and the Blue Jays beat the AL West-leading Texas Rangers 7-2 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep in the matchup of playoff hopefuls. — CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hopefuls
  1. candidates
  2. contenders
  3. applicants
Noun
  • The potential candidates will also hear more cynical arguments in favor of running no matter what.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Kristin Pawlik and Wendy Howerton garnered the most votes among the three candidates in the March nonpartisan judicial race, but neither got more than the 50% required to win outright.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of candidates
Noun
  • In a defining game that many thought would expose problems masked by UCLA’s early-season success, the Bruins — though imperfect — vociferously announced their arrival to the college football world as legitimate playoff contenders.
    — Elias Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • By the end of spring, four main contenders emerged in sophomores Buchanan and SJ Alofaituli and freshmen Congdon and Jackson Cantwell.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of contenders
Noun
  • To be eligible, applicants must be seeking enrollment at the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment as a first-time freshman for Fall 2027.
    — Jem Aswad, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Looming changes tied to ‘payment error rates’ State agencies and some state legislatures are imposing stricter rules and requiring applicants to provide more paperwork documenting their income, expenses and the number of people in their household.
    — Tracy Roof, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of applicants

Browse Nearby Words

hopefulness
hopefuls
hopeless
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hopefuls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hopefuls. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All