rival
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rival
- /ˈɹaɪvəl/
Rhymes with -aɪvəl
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Latin rīvālis (literally “person using the same stream as another”). By surface analysis, Latin rīvus + -al.
noun rivals
- A competitor (person, team, company, etc.) with the same goal as another, or striving to attain the same thing. Defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of a competitor. Chris is my biggest rival in the 400-metre race.
- Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another. As a social historian, he has no rival.
- One having a common right or privilege with another; a partner. If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, / The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.
adjective
- Having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority. rival lovers
verb rivals · rivaling · rivalling · rivaled · rivalled
- To oppose or compete with. to rival somebody in love
- To be equal to, or match, or to surpass another. But the Waverley is still the best-placed station of any British city, and gives the arriving stranger a first impression rivalled in Europe only by the exclusively watery station approach at Venice.
- To strive to equal or excel; to emulate. to rival thunder in its rapid course
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: competitor, competitory, challenger, competition, competing, contender, competitive, touch, equal, match, rivalry, vier, compete, challenge, feuding, competitiveness
Translations
Every language
noun competitor with the same objective
| Español | rival |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 경쟁자 gyeongjaengja, 라이벌 raibeol |
| 日本語 | 好敵手 kōtekishu, 宿敵 shukuteki, ライバル raibaru |
| 中文 | 對手 /对手 duìshǒu, 敵手 /敌手 díshǒu |
| हिन्दी | प्रतिद्वंद्वी pratidvandvī, प्रतियोगी pratiyogī, प्रतिरोधी pratirodhī, प्रतिवादी prativādī, प्रतिस्पर्धी pratispardhī |
| Português | rival, adversário, competidor |
| Français | rival, rivale |
| Deutsch | Gegner, Rivale, Konkurrent, Gegnerin, Rivalin, Konkurrentin |
| Italiano | rivale, competitore, antagonista, avversario |
| Ελληνικά | αντίζηλος antízilos, ανταγωνιστής antagonistís |
| Română | rival, rivală |
| Русский | сопе́рник sopérnik, сопе́рница sopérnica, проти́вник protívnik, проти́вница protívnica, конкуре́нт konkurént, конкуре́нтка konkuréntka |
| Tiếng Việt | đối thủ, địch thủ |
| العربية | مُنَافِس munāfis |
| עברית | יָרִיב yarív, מִתְחָרֶה mitkhare |
noun someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another
| Português | rival |
|---|---|
| Italiano | rivale, pari, avversario |
| Ελληνικά | εφάμιλλος efámillos, ανταγωνιστής antagonistís |
| Русский | ра́вный rávnyj |
verb to oppose or compete with
| Français | rivaliser |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | rivalisieren |
| Italiano | rivaleggiare, competere |
| Ελληνικά | ανταγωνίζομαι antagonízomai, παραβγαίνω paravgaíno |
| Русский | сопе́рничать sopérničatʹ, конкури́ровать konkurírovatʹ |
Talk about this word "rival." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rival. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rival. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rival "rival." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rival.Cite this
@misc{rival_2026,
title = {rival},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rival},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
