Synonyms for rival
ˈraɪ vəlri·val

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.2 / 5 votes

1. rival

   An enemy in private life is one who is moved by hostile feeling with active disposition to injure; but in military language all who fight on the opposite side are called enemies or collectively "the enemy," where no personal animosity may be implied; foe, which is rather a poetical and literary word, implies intensely hostile spirit and purpose. An antagonist is one who opposes and is opposed actively and with intensity of effort; an opponent, one in whom the attitude of resistance is the more prominent; a competitor, one who seeks the same object for which another is striving; antagonists in wrestling, competitors in business, opponents in debate may contend with no personal ill will; rivals in love, ambition, etc., rarely avoid inimical feeling. Adversary was formerly much used in the general sense of antagonist or opponent, but is now less common, and largely restricted to the hostile sense; an adversary is ordinarily one who not only opposes another in fact, but does so with hostile spirit, or perhaps out of pure malignity; as, the great Adversary. Compare synonyms for AMBITION.

   Synonyms:
   adversary, antagonist, competitor, enemy, foe, opponent

   Antonyms:
   abettor, accessory, accomplice, ally, friend, helper, supporter

   Preposition:
   He was the enemy of my friend in the contest.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 2 votes

1. rivalnoun

   Synonyms:
   antagonist, competitor, cosuitor

   Antonyms:
   adherent, supporter, comrade, coadjutor, neutral

2. rivalverb

   Synonyms:
   emulate, challenge, equal, contend, strive, compete

   Antonyms:
   succumb, surrender, yield, promote, reverence, retire, defer

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. rival, challenger, competitor, competition, contenderverb

   the contestant you hope to defeat

   "he had respect for his rivals"; "he wanted to know what the competition was doing"

   Synonyms:
   competition, competitor, contender, contention, rivalry, challenger, contest

2. equal, touch, rival, matchverb

   be equal to in quality or ability

   "Nothing can rival cotton for durability"; "Your performance doesn't even touch that of your colleagues"; "Her persistence and ambition only matches that of her parents"

   Synonyms:
   adjoin, touch, pit, have-to doe with, play off, pertain, couple, match, concern, fit, stir, tinge, refer, meet, equalize, twin, agree, be, gibe, oppose, tally, equalise, affect, pair, jibe, cope with, equate, relate, touch on, equal, tinct, bear on, allude, bear upon, reach, contact, correspond, come to, advert, impact, partake, extend to, mate, disturb, tint, check

3. rivalverb

   be the rival of, be in competition with

   "we are rivaling for first place in the race"

   Synonyms:
   touch, match, equal

Matched Categories

1. • Compete

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. archenemy

   Submitted by anonymous on May 9, 2021  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. rivalnoun

   Synonyms:
   competitor, antagonist, opponent, rival candidate

2. rivaladjective

   Synonyms:
   competing, emulating, emulous

3. rivalverb

   Synonyms:
   oppose, compete with, contend with

4. rivalverb

   Synonyms:
   emulate, try to equal or excel

5. rivalverb

   Synonyms:
   match, equal, be equal to

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. rivaladjective

   Synonyms:
   competing, competitive, emulative

2. rivalnoun

   Synonyms:
   competitor, emulator, antagonist

3. rivalverb

   Synonyms:
   compete, emulate

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "rival":

   competitor, competing, challenger, opponent, competition, contender, rivals, hostile, conflicting, compete, adversary

Concise Medical Dictionary, by Joseph C Segen, MDRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Rival

   Synonyms:
   Diazepam, see there
   

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use rival in a sentence?

1. Katerina Stefanidi:

   My rival Sandi Morris for example has been training the past week because her facility is still open, we have to have a realistic image from the IOC. They have to show that they understand.

2. State Department aide David Holmes:

   I was surprised the requirement was so specific and concrete, while we had advised our Ukrainian counterparts to voice a commitment to following the rule of law and generally to investigating credible corruption allegations, this was a demand that Volodymyr Zelensky personally commit to a specific investigation of President Trump's political rival on a cable news channel.

3. Ralph Waldo Emerson:

   Tell them dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,Then beauty is its own excuse for beingWhy thou wert there, O rival of the roseI never sought to ask, I never knewBut, in my simple ignorance supposeThe selfsame power that brought me there brought you.

4. New Horizons:

   Pluto is showing us a diversity of landforms and complexity of processes that rival anything we’ve seen in the solar system, if an artist had painted this Pluto before our flyby, I probably would have called it over the top — but that’s what is actually there.

5. President Obama:

   Time and again this election, Jeb Bush has been outshone by more charismatic candidates. On Monday, there was a slight variation on the story. Once again, Jeb was outdone by a much more talented politician, but this time, it was a backer and not a rival: Jeb’s big brother George W. Bush. It was the former president’s first appearance on the campaign trail this cycle, and it came just a few days before the South Carolina Republican primary, which is shaping up to be a make-or-break moment for Jeb. President Bush, along with his wife Laura and Senator Lindsey Graham, helped pack 3,000 people in for a rally in North Charleston. It’s proof that his popularity endures in South Carolina, but it’s too early to tell whether that popularity will prove transferrable.