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
Andrew Saunders, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
The Yankees lost in the ALDS to their division rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays, in four games in a sad ending to their season.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025
None of its rivals appears able to match the pace or ambition.
—Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
Whether the return of the 20 living hostages on Monday will be enough to win back public support or prompt Netanyahu’s political rivals to agree to drop the 2019 charges remains unclear.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2025
On the one hand, Madrid sit two points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga after a dip in form from their Catalan rivals and have won nine of their 10 games in all competitions.
—Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
OpenAI’s aggressive expansion could be critical to keep up with rivals like Meta, Microsoft and Google that have spent decades building their digital ecosystems, said Daniel Keum, an associate professor at Columbia Business School.
—Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Lumumba briefly served as Congo’s Prime Minister; he was executed at age thirty-five by political rivals in collaboration with Belgian mercenaries.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
After the industry was deregulated in 1978, a wave of scrappy, low-cost carriers took on legacy airlines, and with far lower costs than their much larger rivals, managed to stay competitive.
—Barbara Peterson, AFAR Media, 6 Oct. 2025
Pol Ballús, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
And for those seeking more revelry than chills, the island’s 10-day Fantasy Fest transforms the southernmost city into a party that even rivals Mardi Gras.
—Jacqueline Dole, Travel + Leisure, 6 Oct. 2025
Throughout the show, the audience rivals their headliner for best vocal delivery of the night.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2025
That same test now awaits them again in Western New York next weekend, when the entire league will be watching two old division rivals battle on Sunday Night Football.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 29 Sep. 2025
Wilson will play a pro golfer who rivals Lonnie, having beaten him for the tour championship twice.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2025
Atlanta’s 30-0 loss at Carolina last week rivals Miami’s season opener in Indy for worst performance by any team thus far, but that will have Falcons in major bounce back mode at home.
—Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
League rivals McClatchy and West Park will meet again in Roseville on Oct 14.
—Sacbee.com, 25 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
Noun
Even after import tariffs—which are manufacturer-specific and based on the subsidies received by each firm from the Chinese government—Chinese EVs can still be significantly cheaper than European rivals.
—Andrew Saunders, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
The Yankees lost in the ALDS to their division rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays, in four games in a sad ending to their season.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025
None of its rivals appears able to match the pace or ambition.
—Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
Whether the return of the 20 living hostages on Monday will be enough to win back public support or prompt Netanyahu’s political rivals to agree to drop the 2019 charges remains unclear.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2025
On the one hand, Madrid sit two points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga after a dip in form from their Catalan rivals and have won nine of their 10 games in all competitions.
—Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
OpenAI’s aggressive expansion could be critical to keep up with rivals like Meta, Microsoft and Google that have spent decades building their digital ecosystems, said Daniel Keum, an associate professor at Columbia Business School.
—Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Lumumba briefly served as Congo’s Prime Minister; he was executed at age thirty-five by political rivals in collaboration with Belgian mercenaries.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
After the industry was deregulated in 1978, a wave of scrappy, low-cost carriers took on legacy airlines, and with far lower costs than their much larger rivals, managed to stay competitive.
—Barbara Peterson, AFAR Media, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
Flick’s side are two points behind Madrid at the top of the league and return to action on Saturday with the visit of Catalan rivals Girona to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday.
—Pol Ballús, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
And for those seeking more revelry than chills, the island’s 10-day Fantasy Fest transforms the southernmost city into a party that even rivals Mardi Gras.
—Jacqueline Dole, Travel + Leisure, 6 Oct. 2025
Throughout the show, the audience rivals their headliner for best vocal delivery of the night.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2025
That same test now awaits them again in Western New York next weekend, when the entire league will be watching two old division rivals battle on Sunday Night Football.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 29 Sep. 2025
Wilson will play a pro golfer who rivals Lonnie, having beaten him for the tour championship twice.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2025
Atlanta’s 30-0 loss at Carolina last week rivals Miami’s season opener in Indy for worst performance by any team thus far, but that will have Falcons in major bounce back mode at home.
—Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
League rivals McClatchy and West Park will meet again in Roseville on Oct 14.
—Sacbee.com, 25 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivals
Noun
-
The five elements still exempt from China’s controls are largely light rare earths, which are more abundant, easier to mine and refine, and less strategically constrained than their heavier counterparts.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Last year, 31 Chinese companies unveiled 36 humanoid models—but only eight by their American counterparts.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But Hunter is larger than Strus, can man more brute opponents and churned out one of the more versatile shooting seasons of 2024-25.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
In leaked Telegram messages first reported by Politico, Young Republicans leaders privately made racist and otherwise offensive jokes about their political opponents.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
During that time, CBS’ viewership has aged and declined, and its digital operation has lagged behind nimbler competitors, even as other television networks have found some limited success in the worlds of podcasting and digital video.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Unlike most competitors, Mutual of Omaha's reverse mortgage division doesn't operate on weekends.—
Kelsey Neubauer,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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So far, the brand has focused on fully electric models, with its most recent release being the T1 hatchback, which competes with the BYD Dolphin and Geely Xingyuan.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Amazon competes with Microsoft to rent out GPUs from its cloud data centers.—
Ari Levy,Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 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 week before Thanksgiving, USC goes to Oregon for their first matchup as Big Ten foes after decades of facing off in the Pac-12.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
-
James is the first of a handful of Trump foes targeted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency with criminal referrals to face charges.—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The extraordinary slate of Oscar contenders doesn’t end there.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
9 Oct. 2025
-
The Western Conference is stacked with contenders.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google As SpaceX races to dominate satellite-to-phone services, Verizon is doubling down on rival AST SpaceMobile instead.—
Senior Reporter,
PC Magazine,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Shipments began Saturday to five states as the government races to prevent more deaths.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rivals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivals. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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