as in battles
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
a healthy rivalry in sports between the two schools
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rivalries
This sense of competition has caused countless promotions to create timeless matches and rivalries that have stood the test of time, whether your looking at the Territories Era, the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW, or the rivalry between NJPW and AJPW in Japan.
—
Jeremy Hanna, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
What was one of the best rivalries in the 1980s and 90s has lost some of its luster more recently, with one or both of the programs being down for much of the last decade.
—Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Throughout the summer, Joanne leads her lovable, chaotic crew through a season of strikeouts, petty rivalries, conservative-politician sponsors, and sexy carwash fundraisers gone wrong.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
What really tipped the decision in Stockholm was a mix of hesitation over radical new theory and the personal rivalries of powerful scientists.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
Sports rivalries are nothing new to fans and often bring an entirely new level of joy and agony in daily lives.
—Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Since the 1960s, a total of 18 Metro Nashville Public Schools have closed, and some very heated football rivalries ended with those closings.
—Mike Organ, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Sep. 2025
South African suburban satire/crime drama Koek [Cake]; and British series Rivals, an adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel of 1980s media and political rivalries.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
There are plenty of rivalries in the US launch industry.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025
Jeremy Hanna, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
What was one of the best rivalries in the 1980s and 90s has lost some of its luster more recently, with one or both of the programs being down for much of the last decade.
—Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Throughout the summer, Joanne leads her lovable, chaotic crew through a season of strikeouts, petty rivalries, conservative-politician sponsors, and sexy carwash fundraisers gone wrong.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
What really tipped the decision in Stockholm was a mix of hesitation over radical new theory and the personal rivalries of powerful scientists.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
Sports rivalries are nothing new to fans and often bring an entirely new level of joy and agony in daily lives.
—Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
Since the 1960s, a total of 18 Metro Nashville Public Schools have closed, and some very heated football rivalries ended with those closings.
—Mike Organ, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Sep. 2025
South African suburban satire/crime drama Koek [Cake]; and British series Rivals, an adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel of 1980s media and political rivalries.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
There are plenty of rivalries in the US launch industry.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivalries
Noun
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The lawsuit opens a new front in the legal battles the White House is waging against state and local officials, coming just hours after a federal judge blocked a similar deployment of the guard to Portland, Oregon.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
-
While Burton has attempted to reboot the series himself, past efforts were stalled by legal battles with Buffalo Toronto Public Media.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Digging in your heels invites trouble as Mercury conflicts Pluto.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The Third Avenue Project was designed to reduce the violence and open drug use through extensive outreach and the deescalation of conflicts between people on the street.—
Ashley Hiruko,
ProPublica,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As Rogers’ rocky form will testify, Villa’s attacking struggles have not been through a lack of service, but rather the profligacy in possession.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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In correspondence that Khan made available to the investigators, his accuser appears to be very warm, prone to disclosure about her personal life and struggles, highly solicitous of Khan and his wife, and perhaps overeager.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The home team then alternates on the last three potential duels.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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One of the weirdest races in their duels was the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which saw them both experience a tough run of luck completely independent from each other.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
An argument could be made that the show could’ve used more confrontations between them.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Power meetings, sudden opportunities, or straight-up confrontations with authority figures may pop this week.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Palace last lost a match on April 16 — 5-0 away at Newcastle United — and since then have gone 18 unbeaten across five competitions to move level with the team from 1969.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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For example, the Rotarians support Interact, music competitions, a four-way speech competition and a holiday craft fair at Valley Elementary.—
Elizabeth Marie Himchak,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
However, the reality is that peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US and Europe are clearly stalled, if at worse dead with many contentions from both sides surrounding security concerns and, importantly, trade sanctions.—
Earl Carr,
Forbes.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In one scene, real footage of Benjamin Netanyahu appears on the television of Anat’s father, who is suffering post-traumatic flashbacks from his own wars.—
Gershom Gorenberg,
The Atlantic,
3 Oct. 2025
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The reasons for that lack of credibility extend well beyond the campus speech wars of the past few decades.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rivalries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivalries. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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