as in competition
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 rivalry
Jones said its fair to say Aledo and Denton Ryan have a rivalry.
—
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Oct. 2025
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
Team Europe retained the Ryder Cup after a weekend at Bethpage Black, but one of the main storylines from this year’s rivalry was how Team USA fans were treating the golfers on Long Island.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
When rivalries intervened In 1908, the Nobel physics committee, then chaired by Knut Ångström, initially favoured Max Planck.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rivalry
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Oct. 2025
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
Team Europe retained the Ryder Cup after a weekend at Bethpage Black, but one of the main storylines from this year’s rivalry was how Team USA fans were treating the golfers on Long Island.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
When rivalries intervened In 1908, the Nobel physics committee, then chaired by Knut Ångström, initially favoured Max Planck.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rivalry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivalry
Noun
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In-competition features showcase emerging filmmakers from around the world, there to debut feature, documentary and short films.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
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Since premiering in 2005, Olympic athletes, TV stars, internet personalities and singers have stepped into the ballroom to participate in the ABC reality dance competition show.—
Jordana Comiter,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For Democrats, the battle marked a defining moment to demonstrate unity after earlier funding fights in which they were accused of caving to Republican demands.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
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That was really the battle, less than the gut.—
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Guardiola was agitated that Van Hecke went to ground inside his own penalty area in a shirt-tugging duel with Erling Haaland.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
6 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
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If anything, the two games at Dodger Stadium showed the struggles of the Reds’ offense, with Blake Snell allowing only two base runners in the first six innings of his Game 1 start, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up two runs in the first inning of Game 2 before retiring 13 straight.—
C. Trent Rosecrans,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Mendes would later detail his struggles with maintaining his mental health while touring and cancel his Wonder world tour in 2022.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Robert also produced the film, which followed a group of Southern whiskey runners getting into chases and conflicts with federal agents.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
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Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure from the international community and Trump to end the conflict.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The continent is scrambling to build the necessary capacities to defend against drones, highlighting not only its lagging technology but also how rapidly warfare has shifted to the use of unmanned aircraft.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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But does this signal not just tactical innovation, but a shift toward a new era of hybrid naval warfare?—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But with American naval forces gathering off Venezuela's coast, fears are intensifying over what this growing show of force could mean for the prisoners — trapped between fragile diplomacy and the prospect of armed confrontation.—
Manuel Rueda,
NPR,
4 Oct. 2025
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Satellite imagery, Pentagon releases, and ship tracking reports reveal stealth jets, Marines, and naval vessels poised across Puerto Rico and the eastern Caribbean, raising the specter of escalating tensions that some say could be the opening moves of a broader confrontation.—
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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If Schaefer can make a strong early impact to get into Calder contention and Pulock can bounce back, however, there’s certainly room for upside here.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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The stark difference proved costly as the club finished 82-80 and outside of playoff contention.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rivalry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivalry. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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