1
as in counterparts
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 opponents
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 competitors
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rivals
Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Because both the Lions and Packers are playoff contenders and longtime divisional rivals with fan bases that extend beyond their own cities, this year’s Thanksgiving match-up holds ample promise.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
North AmericaAutos Ford CEO says America is ‘far behind’ rivals like China on blue-collar industry.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
Sasaki’s signing with the Dodgers broke brains, angered rivals and seemingly gave the Dodgers a bounty of riches.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Amazon faces growing pressure to update its hardware and software for the generative AI age following the success of rivals such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
However, the six-hour stretch on Sunday was the first time the network has simultaneously outperformed both rivals for such a sustained duration in total viewership and the 25-54 demo.
—Heather Hunter, The Washington Examiner, 24 Sep. 2025
And Republicans now expect their rivals to burn millions of dollars in a primary.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Coming off a dominant win against cross-town rivals Man U, the best news for Pep Guardiola’s team is that Erling Haaland has started this campaign with guns blazing.
—Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2025
Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
The salt marshes and estuaries are a magnet for migratory birds, whose colorful plumage rivals the blaze of bold leaves.
—Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
Among the most high profile were the arrivals of USMNT player Johnny Cardoso, who joined from La Liga rivals Real Betis, and 2024 Olympic gold medal winner Álex Baena.
—Sam Leveridge, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
According to the incident report, Clowney tried to park at an apartment complex in downtown Rock Hill just across the street from District Three Stadium, which was hosting a football game between city rivals South Pointe and Northwestern high schools.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 19 Sep. 2025
DreamCloud’s discounts closely rivals Nectar’s—this mattress-in-a-box company is offering savings of up to 66% on mattresses and $599 on accessories.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 16 Sep. 2025
The ballclub sat nine outs from elimination and trailed their AL East rivals 7-0 in the seventh inning.
—Tim Crowley, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Once Deauville comes into view, there’s a wealth of options to consider but perhaps nothing rivals L’Hôtel Barrière Le Normandy Deauville, where many celebrities set up camp for the run of the festival.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
Great Nicobar rivals Ecuador’s Galápagos with its cultural and biological wealth.
—M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
Issues around social media, respect between political rivals and free speech have been highlighted by the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder and CEO Charlie Kirk on September 10.
—Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Because both the Lions and Packers are playoff contenders and longtime divisional rivals with fan bases that extend beyond their own cities, this year’s Thanksgiving match-up holds ample promise.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
North AmericaAutos Ford CEO says America is ‘far behind’ rivals like China on blue-collar industry.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025
Sasaki’s signing with the Dodgers broke brains, angered rivals and seemingly gave the Dodgers a bounty of riches.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Amazon faces growing pressure to update its hardware and software for the generative AI age following the success of rivals such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
However, the six-hour stretch on Sunday was the first time the network has simultaneously outperformed both rivals for such a sustained duration in total viewership and the 25-54 demo.
—Heather Hunter, The Washington Examiner, 24 Sep. 2025
And Republicans now expect their rivals to burn millions of dollars in a primary.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Coming off a dominant win against cross-town rivals Man U, the best news for Pep Guardiola’s team is that Erling Haaland has started this campaign with guns blazing.
—Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
As Big Ten rivals Michigan and then Ohio State won national titles, Penn State was still getting its NIL house in order, consolidating its funding, streamlining its operations, aligning its power players and making Happy Valley an appealing and lucrative place for top talent to come — and stay.
—Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
The salt marshes and estuaries are a magnet for migratory birds, whose colorful plumage rivals the blaze of bold leaves.
—Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
Among the most high profile were the arrivals of USMNT player Johnny Cardoso, who joined from La Liga rivals Real Betis, and 2024 Olympic gold medal winner Álex Baena.
—Sam Leveridge, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
According to the incident report, Clowney tried to park at an apartment complex in downtown Rock Hill just across the street from District Three Stadium, which was hosting a football game between city rivals South Pointe and Northwestern high schools.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 19 Sep. 2025
DreamCloud’s discounts closely rivals Nectar’s—this mattress-in-a-box company is offering savings of up to 66% on mattresses and $599 on accessories.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 16 Sep. 2025
The ballclub sat nine outs from elimination and trailed their AL East rivals 7-0 in the seventh inning.
—Tim Crowley, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Once Deauville comes into view, there’s a wealth of options to consider but perhaps nothing rivals L’Hôtel Barrière Le Normandy Deauville, where many celebrities set up camp for the run of the festival.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
Great Nicobar rivals Ecuador’s Galápagos with its cultural and biological wealth.
—M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivals
Noun
-
That means to us that those models are every bit as capable as their non-hybrid counterparts, but also efficient, safe, comfortable, and reliable.—
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Like their counterparts abroad, some American tobacco smokers in the Cold War era continued to roll their own cigarettes.—
Robert M. Ehrenreich,
JSTOR Daily,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In April 2023, Mauti and board of trustees member Brandon Short, another former Penn State linebacker who played for Joe Paterno, endorsed opponents of Jay Paterno and Lubrano in a trustees election.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Under the schedule requirements moving forward, each SEC team will play a 9-game conference schedule that will include 3 annual opponents and 6 rotating opponents.—
Matt Jones,
Arkansas Online,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Following this mass extinction, the oceans were largely empty of competitors but rich in food.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Anthropic appears to be pushing further ahead of its competitors in coding assistance and autonomous task completion, positioning its models toward corporate and workplace use.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Tonale competes with compact and subcompact luxury SUVs like the Audi Q3, BMW X2, Lexus UX and Mercedes GLA.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Now, everybody in the county competes for these positions.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Using employees – the number of people – rather than full-time equivalents makes these numbers difficult to compare directly with EPA’s budget proposals.—
Chris Sellers,
The Conversation,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Lucid also promotes the vehicle with city and freeway MPGe equivalents of 114 and 109.—
James Raia,
Mercury News,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Biden administration completed the reversion to a Cold War frame, declaring a global divide between democracies and autocracies, with China and Russia reprising their roles as principal foes.—
JENNIFER KAVANAGH,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Sep. 2025
-
After a postseason race that went down to Game 162, the longtime foes are set to meet in a best-of-three Wild Card Series in New York, starting with Game 1 on Tuesday.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The 26th annual Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF), the premiere destination for Southern California awards contenders, will screen over 100 feature films and 250 shorts from 32 countries from October 16-23, 2025.—
William Earl,
Variety,
25 Sep. 2025
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Entering 2025, both Kansas City and Baltimore were viewed as AFC contenders, but a trying early slate has them both at 1-2.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The event takes place after the boat races.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Sep. 2025
-
RDREs use a detonation wave that races around a circular channel, which produces short, high-pressure bursts that drive up thrust and efficiency.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rivals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivals. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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