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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of rivals
Nikole Killion, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
The short, but so far rather sweet, voyage of the Chelsea Under-21 boss at the first-team helm will feature one last stop just across the Thames against west London rivals Fulham.
—Jack Bantock, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
The problem is amplified both because Musk pitches his chatbot as an edgier alternative to rivals with more safeguards, and because Grok’s images are publicly visible, and can therefore be easily spread.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
The first season is inspired by the second installment of Reid’s series by focusing on the steamy and secret affair of arch rivals, Storrie’s Rozanov of the Boston Raiders and Williams’ Shane Hollander of the Montreal Metros.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 6 Jan. 2026
The game was intense — the Lyons Township High School Lions were up against their arch rivals, the Hinsdale Central Bulldogs.
—Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Sea’s operating expenses also jumped by 28%, as its e-commerce arm Shopee tries to strengthen its competitive edge of rivals like Alibaba’s Lazada and ByteDance’s TikTok Shop.
—Angelica Ang, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
Blasts in the capitals of India and Pakistan raised tensions between the neighboring rivals.
—J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 11 Nov. 2025
In the process, the land is torn apart by fierce rivals, shifting loyalties, and bloody betrayals.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
Sasirekha Subramanian, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
In Macdonald's second season, the Seahawks, who hadn't won a playoff game in six years, claimed their first NFC West title since 2020 and advanced to the Super Bowl by beating division rivals the San Francisco 49ers and the Rams to get to the title game.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
The Dream will host Eastern Conference rivals Connecticut, Washington and New York during the competition.
—Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
Fans have a new sweet to round out their Burger King meals that rivals a classic McDonald’s menu item.
—Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
DeepSeek startled Silicon Valley last year with a model that rivals ChatGPT but built with far less money and computing muscle.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
While the script offers a disappointing lack of depth for Wally’s interior life, Tyler’s performance pushes against that limitation, offering a kind of magnetism that rivals Chalamet’s career-defining turn.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 Dec. 2025
Lucky for us, we are surrounded by some of California’s most underrated wine regions, and a handful of producers make sparkling wine that rivals what comes from Europe.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 26 Dec. 2025
The defense is much better when Gobert is on the floor, and his defensive impact rivals that of anyone in the Association.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025
Noun
At certain points, Pelosi and Hoyer were seen as rivals vying for the speakership — a role that only Pelosi ended up securing.
—Nikole Killion, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
The short, but so far rather sweet, voyage of the Chelsea Under-21 boss at the first-team helm will feature one last stop just across the Thames against west London rivals Fulham.
—Jack Bantock, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
The problem is amplified both because Musk pitches his chatbot as an edgier alternative to rivals with more safeguards, and because Grok’s images are publicly visible, and can therefore be easily spread.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
The first season is inspired by the second installment of Reid’s series by focusing on the steamy and secret affair of arch rivals, Storrie’s Rozanov of the Boston Raiders and Williams’ Shane Hollander of the Montreal Metros.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 6 Jan. 2026
The game was intense — the Lyons Township High School Lions were up against their arch rivals, the Hinsdale Central Bulldogs.
—Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Sea’s operating expenses also jumped by 28%, as its e-commerce arm Shopee tries to strengthen its competitive edge of rivals like Alibaba’s Lazada and ByteDance’s TikTok Shop.
—Angelica Ang, Fortune, 12 Nov. 2025
Blasts in the capitals of India and Pakistan raised tensions between the neighboring rivals.
—J.d. Capelouto, semafor.com, 11 Nov. 2025
In the process, the land is torn apart by fierce rivals, shifting loyalties, and bloody betrayals.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
Amazon’s Leo network (formerly Project Kuiper), which rivals Starlink, aims for a constellation of 3,236 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
—Sasirekha Subramanian, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
In Macdonald's second season, the Seahawks, who hadn't won a playoff game in six years, claimed their first NFC West title since 2020 and advanced to the Super Bowl by beating division rivals the San Francisco 49ers and the Rams to get to the title game.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
The Dream will host Eastern Conference rivals Connecticut, Washington and New York during the competition.
—Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
Fans have a new sweet to round out their Burger King meals that rivals a classic McDonald’s menu item.
—Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
DeepSeek startled Silicon Valley last year with a model that rivals ChatGPT but built with far less money and computing muscle.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
While the script offers a disappointing lack of depth for Wally’s interior life, Tyler’s performance pushes against that limitation, offering a kind of magnetism that rivals Chalamet’s career-defining turn.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 Dec. 2025
Lucky for us, we are surrounded by some of California’s most underrated wine regions, and a handful of producers make sparkling wine that rivals what comes from Europe.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 26 Dec. 2025
The defense is much better when Gobert is on the floor, and his defensive impact rivals that of anyone in the Association.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivals
Noun
-
These scrolls are about 100 times thinner than a human hair and conduct electricity more efficiently than their flat counterparts.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Jan. 2026
-
But lead plaintiff Madison Fisk and her fellow former teammates—represented by lawyers Arthur Bryant, Lori Bullock, Gayle Blatt and Jenna Rangel—pushed for financial compensation as well, arguing they were collectively denied years of athletic financial aid given to their male counterparts.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For the second time this season, the Sea View League opponents provided a nail-biter.—
Martin Henderson,
Oc Register,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Gauff’s movement often exhausts her opponents.—
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
How does your brand's value growth compare to category competitors?—
Steven Wolfe Pereira,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
This constitution, which Anthropic just updated, is one thing that differentiates Anthropic’s AI models from those offered by its competitors, such as OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Elon Musk’s xAI.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Although the three share the track and a competitive spirit, the immediate family plan is focused primarily on Daniel, who already competes in outdoor karting with 100cc gasoline engines and has won races at the national level.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Its seasonal campaign is fronted by none other than the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics’ top stars, from Madison Chock (an Olympic gold medalist in ice dancing who competes with her husband Evan Bates) to bobsled world champ Kaysha Love.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These mega data centers, or AI factories as Jensen likes to call them, have peak load equivalents to small cities.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Most experts recommend maintaining one to three years of expenses in cash or cash equivalents, plus an emergency fund that covers several months' worth of expenses.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The book begins with a familiar spark, a rescue, but Wells wanted to push the setting into something stronger and tougher to move through, eventually coming up with another unique sci-fi setting that Murderbot and its friends can navigate while encountering friends, foes and more eye contact.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The Seahawks and Rams will follow them in the NFC Conference Championship, a rubber match between these NFC West foes.—
Josh Shepardson,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, Fed governor Christopher Waller, and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett are among the top contenders for the position.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Fans will want to keep tabs on whom title contenders and district title favorites — such as Aledo, Southlake Carroll and North Crowley — choose to face.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That is because the House sent the DHS funding over to the Senate tied together with billions in spending for defense, health, transportation and other federal agencies, in part to expedite the process as Congress races to meet a Friday deadline to keep the government fully open.—
Sam Gringlas,
NPR,
26 Jan. 2026
-
But when Zara leaves, Rhys races back to his house and goes through his files from the case.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rivals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivals. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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