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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hopefuls
Candidates from all walks of life run for Congress each election cycle, from backgrounds in politics and government to adjacent fields such as law or public policy, but some hopefuls are leveraging their public profile as media personalities to help drive their campaigns.
—
David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2026
This year, the field of hopefuls was bigger than ever.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2026
Three likelier bullpen hopefuls, Cade Winquest, Jake Bird and Kervin Castro, all threw an inning on Tuesday.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
Former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy will face Stratton in November, defeating five other hopefuls.
—Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Europe As ever there are a raft of French Cannes hopefuls.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026
Coming up The round of Premier League games is neatly tied off on Monday night, when Champions League hopefuls Brentford host recent discoverers of competence Wolves.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Coming off three straight road games against championship hopefuls, the Celtics got a reprieve Saturday in their return to TD Garden.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 15 Mar. 2026
Just hours before Sunday’s big award show, Hudson celebrated with other Oscar hopefuls at MPTF's Night Before party at the Fox Studio Lot on March 14.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 15 Mar. 2026
David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2026
This year, the field of hopefuls was bigger than ever.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2026
Three likelier bullpen hopefuls, Cade Winquest, Jake Bird and Kervin Castro, all threw an inning on Tuesday.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
Former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy will face Stratton in November, defeating five other hopefuls.
—Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Europe As ever there are a raft of French Cannes hopefuls.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026
Coming up The round of Premier League games is neatly tied off on Monday night, when Champions League hopefuls Brentford host recent discoverers of competence Wolves.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Coming off three straight road games against championship hopefuls, the Celtics got a reprieve Saturday in their return to TD Garden.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 15 Mar. 2026
Just hours before Sunday’s big award show, Hudson celebrated with other Oscar hopefuls at MPTF's Night Before party at the Fox Studio Lot on March 14.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 15 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hopefuls
Noun
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Austin-Gatson emphasized that Georgia's current system — primaries followed by general elections — allows voters to better evaluate candidates and ensures fairness in the process.—
CBS Atlanta Digital Team,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Robbins took home about 31%, and two other candidates split the rest.—
Ryan Oehrli,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Spartans are almost always contenders but have not cut down the nets since 2000.—
Steve Kornacki,
NBC news,
19 Mar. 2026
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Miller made the airport a similar priority while staking out several more moderate positions than other top contenders in the left-leaning field.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Lawmakers kept in a provision that would require applicants for public benefits to have their citizenship status verified through a Department of Homeland Security-run database before being approved to receive benefits.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
25 Mar. 2026
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None set out at the beginning of high school seeking a path that leads to MIT, which accepts only about five students for every 100 applicants.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hopefuls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hopefuls. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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