rivaling 1 of 2

adjective

variants or rivalling
as in competitive

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

rivaling

2 of 2

verb

variants or rivalling
present participle of rival
as in competing
to engage in a contest two longtime friends who have rivaled for the same things at every stage of their lives

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rivaling
Verb
Meanwhile, the proliferation of large new data centers is rivaling inflation and the Iran war as midterm political issues--and, like them, is hurting the Republicans. — Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026 The combined company will be a giant in the entertainment business, rivaling only Disney and Netflix in terms of scale. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026 The only thing that came close to rivaling the fashion fun on the catwalk was the major star power in the front row. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026 So, Wembanyama’s versatility is already rivaling that of one of the greatest offensive stretches in NBA history. — Jared Weiss, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026 This is the Degrassi kid turned global superstar rivaling Taylor Swift, after all. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2026 The settlement is one of the largest state consumer protection settlements in history, rivaling the Big Tobacco payouts in the 1990s, according to a press release from Coleman. — Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Aug. 2026 At the time, the rapper was signed to Knight's Death Row Records, which was associated with the Bloods gang, while Davis was a leader of the rivaling South Side Crips. — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026 In several areas of science and technology, China is now rivaling or surpassing the United States. — H. Christopher Frey, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rivaling
  1. competitive
  2. competing
  3. opposite
  4. contending
  5. opposing
Adjective
  • To be competitive in the industry, there has to be noise and vibration because that's what sports car buyers want.
    — Morgan Korn, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The Broncos, meanwhile, overcame a Week 1 loss to remain competitive, but have fallen behind the Chiefs and Raiders in the AFC West.
    — Jason Cohen, PC Magazine, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of competitive
Verb
  • Treating children already harmed by obesity and changing the systems that harmed them are not competing priorities.
    — Babak J. Orandi, STAT, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Weekends are for competing and the beach, for spending time with friends and climbing through brief windows of freedom in a life otherwise built on routine.
    — Bella Armstrong, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of competing
Adjective
  • Eyck Freymann, a Hoover fellow at Stanford University and the author of Defending Taiwan, believes that now, a US blockade would have the opposite effect.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The fridge and microwave are located behind the main kitchen block on the vehicle's opposite sidewall.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of opposite
Verb
  • The win brings Houston to 1-1 in conference play and keeps their hopes of contending in the Big 12 alive.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Cruise is absolutely not at the top of the pack, as other stars who have yet to win an Oscar for their acting, like John Malkovich, Matt Damon, and Ryan Gosling, are in contending films that have broader appeal.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of contending
Adjective
  • Run the floor, set hard screens and make the opposing center feel him.
    — C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Within this region are two major neural pathways, known as the direct and indirect pathways, which appear to exert opposing influences over which actions are expressed.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of opposing

Browse Nearby Words

rivaled
rivaling
rivalries
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rivaling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rivaling. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All