1
as in equivalent
one that is equal to another in status, achievement, or value
a design that is a rival to any produced by a professional graphic artist
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in opponent
one that takes a position opposite another in a competition or conflict
the boxer's toughest rival thus far
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in competitor
one who strives for the same thing as another
the four cities that are the top rivals for the site of the next Olympic Games
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in competitive
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of rival
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2025
Smyrna plays La Vergne Week 10 and then rival Stewarts Creek Week 11.
—Cecil Joyce, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, 21 Oct. 2025
Luke Bosher, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Throw out the rules when two rivals face off.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2025
Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
The handheld vacuum comes equipped with dual suction modes, which can reach a maximum speed that rivals upright models.
—Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rival
Noun
There’s no doubt Kansas has come close to beating rival K-State in recent years.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2025
Smyrna plays La Vergne Week 10 and then rival Stewarts Creek Week 11.
—Cecil Joyce, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
The city rivals share Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and Sunday’s fixture was designated as a home game for Hapoel Tel Aviv.
—Luke Bosher, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Throw out the rules when two rivals face off.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
After losing nine straight to rival Utah from 2010-19, BYU has completely flipped the Holy War rivalry.
—Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
The handheld vacuum comes equipped with dual suction modes, which can reach a maximum speed that rivals upright models.
—Toni Sutton, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rival
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rival
Noun
-
Feeding should start at very low levels, beginning with a hundred grams of liquid glucose—the equivalent of half a cup of sugar.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Yes, deals get done The diary of the workaday sales exec at most of the major distribs is filled with meetings with their acquisitions exec equivalent.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Not for nothing did the sports division fork over a bundle for the rights to license the Roundball Rock theme—which for years effectively served as the soundtrack to Jordan crushing the dreams of his opponents—from its shooting guard-size composer, John Tesh.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
On Tuesday, Sanae Takaichi won a vote of 237-149 in the lower house of parliament over her closest opponent, Yoshihiko Noda.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Last year, Semafor noted that Soros was diving deeper into podcasting and audio, investing in Crooked and the radio company Audacy, as well as meeting with competitors like Pushkin, Project Brazen, and Lemonada.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Too Cool and later had a successful run as a main event singles competitor.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
His sons, who compete as The Usos and Solo Sikoa, as well as his nephew Roman Reigns, have continued his legacy as central figures in WWE.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Dolce Vita Notice Sneakers Colorful sneakers aren’t going anywhere, and these bold lavender and orange kicks from Dolce Vita are an easy gateway into the trend with a far more manageable price point than other competing options.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This transition reflects our commitment to evolving with those changes and ensuring UNC Charlotte remains competitive and sustainable.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The new map could flip the competitive 1st Congressional District in the Republicans' favor.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Manchester City have not spread the load in the same way as some of their counterparts.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
The plant grew faster than its native counterpart, the American bittersweet, but by the 1960s, horticulturists were growing wary.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Children’s Health Defense, the organization Kennedy built into one of the fiercest foes of childhood vaccines, took interest in the Idaho bill early on.—
Audrey Dutton,
ProPublica,
20 Oct. 2025
-
That would of course include a victory in the season finale against cross-town foe Southern California.—
Eddie Timanus,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The new product casts OpenAI as a contender in this generation’s brewing browser wars.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Since debuting at the Venice Film Festival, the film has been tapped as a major Oscar contender.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rival.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rival. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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