as in dynamic
having or marked by a strong desire to win or be better than others
The two siblings shared a rivalrous but ultimately loving relationship.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 rivalrous
This Trump Doctrine emphasizes using American power aggressively — more aggressively than Trump’s immediate predecessors — to reshape key relationships and accrue U.S. advantage in a rivalrous world.
—
Hal Brands, Twin Cities, 13 July 2025
The sisters were long involved in a rivalrous feud.
—Lydia Price, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
In Trump’s first term, that insight helped the United States begin a messy adjustment to the realities of a rivalrous age.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Ricardo divided society into three rivalrous classes—landlords, capitalists, and workers—and showed how the landlords were able to take the lion’s share of the economic surplus by virtue of owning, and charging rent on, a scarce and valuable resource: land.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rivalrous
Hal Brands, Twin Cities, 13 July 2025
The sisters were long involved in a rivalrous feud.
—Lydia Price, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
In Trump’s first term, that insight helped the United States begin a messy adjustment to the realities of a rivalrous age.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Ricardo divided society into three rivalrous classes—landlords, capitalists, and workers—and showed how the landlords were able to take the lion’s share of the economic surplus by virtue of owning, and charging rent on, a scarce and valuable resource: land.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for rivalrous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivalrous
Adjective
-
Emanuel and his partners were soon signing the most glittering names in show business, acquiring some of the most dynamic companies on the planet (IMG, UFC, WWE).—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2026
-
After choosing a makeup look from one of three makeup artists—Carolina Gonzalez, Allan Avendano, and Fiona Stiles—who have partnered with Swan, a dynamic overlay is adapted to your face shape to help with product application.—
Elizabeth Gulino,
Allure,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This has been a banner offseason for the AL East, which has seen numerous impact additions as clubs load up for what should be a highly competitive 2026 season.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The proposal cited two reports that bemoaned the multiple, often overlapping and sometimes competitive, state and local entities that govern the schools.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Even moreso now that grocery bills rival flat-screen TVs and monthly health insurance premiums cost what a mortgage once did.—
Allyson Reedy,
Denver Post,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The project will receive nearly $70 million in tax-increment financing that created a stir among rival casino properties in Reno and was ultimately approved in a 5-2 vote last May by the city’s redevelopment agency.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But smart casting, witty writing, lively directing, and artful character development have also yielded the rare superhero riff that, as Kovak puts it, finds the human underneath.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Jan. 2026
-
For 30 minutes, the producers mostly paint with a warm, lively palette, whisking fragments of IDM, ghettotech, and house into a hypnotic swirl.—
Rae-Aila Crumble,
Pitchfork,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
She was pronounced dead at the scene, and her cause of death was later determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, the Athens-Clarke County Coroner’s Office and Morgue confirmed to PEOPLE.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Two years later, Poppy is determined to get them back on track.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rivalrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivalrous. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
