as in candidates
one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award
the three mayoral hopefuls are going to debate on local TV
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Recent Examples of hopefuls
One of the highlights of Golden Bachelor season one was seeing the empowering women who came on national television looking for a second or perhaps third chance at love breakout to stardom, and a teaser (below) shows that this new batch of hopefuls in their golden years is just as impressive.
—
Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Jim Walden, independent candidate for New York City mayor, on Tuesday dropped out of the race while calling on other hopefuls to get behind the second-most popular choice in an effort to defeat New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
—Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Democratic candidates weigh in Kansas’ Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls expressed uniform contempt towards the idea of reimagining the state’s congressional boundaries.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
And after a 10-8 loss the day before, Detroit pitching has already given up 22 runs to the National League playoff hopefuls in just two games.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2025
These pre-experience degrees are surging in popularity around the world, and some countries are accepting a larger percentage of young hopefuls.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, best actor hopefuls made their presence felt.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 1 Sep. 2025
Thousands of hopefuls apply each year, but only 12 are chosen to compete in the 10-week contest.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Naaman Zhou rides one of the city’s busiest routes to find out what New Yorkers really think about the proposals from these mayoral hopefuls.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Jim Walden, independent candidate for New York City mayor, on Tuesday dropped out of the race while calling on other hopefuls to get behind the second-most popular choice in an effort to defeat New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
—Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Democratic candidates weigh in Kansas’ Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls expressed uniform contempt towards the idea of reimagining the state’s congressional boundaries.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
And after a 10-8 loss the day before, Detroit pitching has already given up 22 runs to the National League playoff hopefuls in just two games.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 3 Sep. 2025
These pre-experience degrees are surging in popularity around the world, and some countries are accepting a larger percentage of young hopefuls.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, best actor hopefuls made their presence felt.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 1 Sep. 2025
Thousands of hopefuls apply each year, but only 12 are chosen to compete in the 10-week contest.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Naaman Zhou rides one of the city’s busiest routes to find out what New Yorkers really think about the proposals from these mayoral hopefuls.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hopefuls
Noun
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Republican candidates for governor say yes, but another likely candidate declined to say.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Meanwhile, Europe is a bit more competitive; the median acceptance rate stands at just 53%, and 46% of candidates identified as women.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Two great offenses, two really strong defenses, past two league MVPs in Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, and two top-tier Super Bowl contenders in a rematch of last year’s divsional playoff game won by the Bills, 27-25, in snowy Buffalo.—
Greg Cote
September 4,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
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Philly is likely to put together another terrific year but there are an ample number of contenders for their championship.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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For applicants, this begins with ensuring current compliance by filing all required returns, paying any outstanding liabilities, and meeting foreign asset and accounts information reporting obligations.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The applicants also include Black Arts MKE, Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Optimist Theatre, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and Woodland Pattern Book Center.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hopefuls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hopefuls. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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