rival

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rīvālis (literally “person using the same stream as another”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹaɪvəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪvəl

Noun

rival (plural rivals)

1. 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.

   • 1983, “Karma Chameleon”, in Colour by Numbers, performed by Culture Club:

     Every day is like survival / You're my lover, not my rival

   • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:

     The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you […] "share the things you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.

2. Someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another.

   As a social historian, he has no rival.

3. (obsolete) One having a common right or privilege with another; a partner.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, / The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.

Hyponyms

• rivaless

Derived terms

• rivaless
• rivalry
• archrival, arch-rival

Related terms

• rivulet

Translations

competitor with the same objective

Albanian: rival (sq) m, kundërshtar (sq) m Arabic: مُنَافِس m (munāfis) Armenian: մրցակից (hy) (mrcʻakicʻ), հակառակորդ (hy) (hakaṙakord) Azerbaijani: rəqib (az) Belarusian: супе́рнік m (supjérnik), супе́рніца f (supjérnica), сапе́рнік m (sapjérnik), сапе́рніца f (sapjérnica), супраці́ўнік m (supracíwnik), супраці́ўніца f (supracíwnica), канкурэ́нт m (kankurént), канкурэ́нтка f (kankuréntka), су́пар m (súpar), су́парка f (súparka) Bengali: প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বী (bn) (protiddonddi) Bulgarian: съпе́рник (bg) m (sǎpérnik), съпе́рница f (sǎpérnica), съпе́рничка f (sǎpérnička); проти́вник (bg) m (protívnik), проти́вница f (protívnica), проти́вничка f (protívnička), конкуре́нт (bg) m (konkurént), конкуре́нтка f (konkuréntka) Burmese: အပြိုင် (my) (a.pruing), ယှဉ်ဖက် (my) (hyanyhpak) Catalan: rival (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 對手 / 对手 (zh) (duìshǒu), 敵手 / 敌手 (zh) (díshǒu) Czech: soupeř (cs) m, soupeřka f, sok (cs) m, sokyně (cs) f, rival (cs) m, rivalka (cs) f Danish: rival c Dutch: tegenstander (nl), rivaal (nl), concurent, vijand (nl) Egyptian: (msdw) Esperanto: rivalo Estonian: võistleja, rivaal Finnish: kilpailija (fi) French: rival (fr) m, rivale (fr) f Georgian: მეტოქე (meṭoke), რაყიფი (raq̇ipi) (archaic) German: Gegner (de) m, Rivale (de) m, Konkurrent (de) m, Gegnerin (de) f, Rivalin (de) f, Konkurrentin (de) f Greek: αντίζηλος (el) m (antízilos), ανταγωνιστής (el) m (antagonistís) Ancient Greek: παλαιστής m (palaistḗs), ἀντίπαλος m (antípalos), ἀγωνιστής m (agōnistḗs) Hebrew: יָרִיב (he) m (yarív), מִתְחָרֶה m (mitkhare) Higaonon: pag-agawan Hindi: प्रतिद्वंद्वी (hi) m (pratidvandvī), प्रतियोगी (hi) m (pratiyogī), प्रतिरोधी (hi) m (pratirodhī), प्रतिवादी (hi) m (prativādī), प्रतिस्पर्धी m (pratispardhī) Hungarian: rivális (hu), vetélytárs (hu) Indonesian: lawan (id), penentang (id), musun Italian: rivale (it) m, competitore (it), antagonista (it) m, avversario (it) Japanese: 好敵手 (ja) (こうてきしゅ, kōtekishu), 宿敵 (しゅくてき, shukuteki), ライバル (ja) (raibaru) Kazakh: қарсылас (qarsylas) Khmer: គូប្រជែង (kuu prɑcɛɛng) Korean: 경쟁자 (ko) (gyeongjaengja), 라이벌 (ko) (raibeol) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: reqîb (ku), hevrik (ku) Kyrgyz: атаандаш (ky) (ataandaş) Lao: ຄູ່ແຂ່ງ (khū khǣng) Latin: aemulus m, aemula m, rīvālis m Latvian: sāncensis m, konkurents m Lithuanian: varžovas m, konkurentas m Macedonian: соперник m (sopernik), соперничка f (sopernička), ривал m (rival), ривалка f (rivalka) Malay: saingan, lawan (ms) Maori: wheinga, hoa kakari Mongolian: Cyrillic: өрсөлдөгч (mn) (örsöldögč) Mongolian: ᠥᠷᠢᠰᠦᠯᠳᠦᠭᠴᠢ (örisüldüɣči) Norwegian: Bokmål: rival (no) m Pashto: رقيب (ps) m (raqíb), حريف (ps) m (haríf), سيال (ps) m (sayāl) Persian: Iranian Persian: رَقیب (raġib), حَریف (harif) Polish: rywal (pl), rywalka (pl) f, konkurent (pl) m, konkurentka (pl) f Portuguese: rival (pt) m or f, adversário (pt) m, competidor (pt) m Romanian: rival (ro), rivală (ro) f Russian: сопе́рник (ru) m (sopérnik), сопе́рница (ru) f (sopérnica), проти́вник (ru) m (protívnik), проти́вница (ru) f (protívnica), (in business) конкуре́нт (ru) m (konkurént), конкуре́нтка (ru) f (konkuréntka) Scottish Gaelic: co-fharpaiseach m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: су̀па̄рнӣк m, су̀па̄рница f, про̀тӣвнӣк m, pròtīvnica (sh) f, рѝва̄л m, рѝва̄лка f, конку̀рент m, конку̀рентица f Roman: sùpārnīk (sh) m, sùpārnica (sh) f, pròtīvnīk (sh) m, pròtīvnica (sh) f, rìvāl (sh) m, rìvālka (sh) f, konkùrent (sh) m, konkùrentica (sh) f Slovak: súper m, súperka f, sok m, sokyňa f, rival m, rivalka f Slovene: tekmec m, tekmica f, konkurent m, konkurentka f Spanish: rival (es) m Swedish: rival (sv) c, konkurrent (sv) c Tagalog: kaagaw Tajik: рақиб (raqib), ҳариф (harif) Thai: คู่แข่ง (th) (kûu-kɛ̀ng) Turkish: rakip (tr) Turkmen: garşydaş Ukrainian: супе́рник m (supérnyk), супе́рниця f (supérnycja), проти́вник (uk) m (protývnyk), проти́вниця f (protývnycja), конкуре́нт m (konkurént), конкуре́нтка f (konkuréntka) Urdu: رَقِیب m (raqīb), حَرِیف m (harīf) Uyghur: رەقىب (reqib) Uzbek: raqib (uz), harif (uz) Vietnamese: đối thủ (vi), địch thủ (vi)

someone or something with similar claims of quality or distinction as another

Bulgarian: конкуре́нт (bg) m (konkurént) Catalan: rival (ca) Greek: εφάμιλλος (el) m (efámillos), ανταγωνιστής (el) m (antagonistís) Italian: rivale (it) m, pari (it) m, avversario (it) Maori: tautētete Portuguese: rival (pt) m or f Russian: ра́вный (ru) m (rávnyj) Turkish: eş (tr), denk (tr), benzer (tr), rakip (tr), emsal (tr)

Adjective

rival (not comparable)

1. Having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority.

   rival lovers

   rival claims or pretensions

   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     The strenuous conflicts and alternate victories of two rival confederacies of statesmen.

Derived terms

• rivalrous

Translations

having the same pretensions or claims

Bulgarian: конкурентен (konkurenten) Greek: Ancient: ἀντίπαλος (antípalos)

Verb

rival (third-person singular simple present rivals, present participle (US) rivaling or (UK) rivalling, simple past and past participle (US) rivaled or (UK) rivalled)

1. (transitive) To oppose or compete with.

   to rival somebody in love

2. To be equal to, or match, or to surpass another.
   • 1941 January, C. Hamilton Ellis, “The Scottish Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 1:

     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.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, […] .

3. To strive to equal or excel; to emulate.
   • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     to rival thunder in its rapid course

Translations

to oppose or compete with

Bulgarian: съпернича (bg) (sǎperniča) Finnish: kilpailla (fi) French: rivaliser (fr) German: rivalisieren (de) Greek: ανταγωνίζομαι (el) (antagonízomai), παραβγαίνω (el) (paravgaíno) Hungarian: rivalizál (hu), verseng (hu) Italian: rivaleggiare (it), competere (it) Maori: taumāhekeheke, tauwhāinga Russian: сопе́рничать (ru) (sopérničatʹ), конкури́ровать (ru) (konkurírovatʹ) Sanskrit: स्पर्धते (spardhate) Ukrainian: супе́рничати impf (supérnyčaty), конкурувати (konkuruvaty), конкурувати (konkuruvaty)

To be equal to, or match

Bulgarian: равнявам се (ravnjavam se) Maori: kātata, tāwhai

emulate

Anagrams

• Avril, arvil, viral

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rīvālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [riˈβal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [riˈval]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

rival m or f (masculine and feminine plural rivals)

1. rival

Derived terms

• rivalitzar

Related terms

• riu
• rivalitat

Noun

rival m or f by sense (plural rivals)

1. rival

Further reading

• “rival”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “rival”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “rival” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “rival” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from German Rival.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈrɪval]

Noun

rival m anim (female equivalent rivalka)

1. rival, competitor, opponent

   sportovní rivalové. ― sports rivals.

Declension

Declension of rival (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	rival	rivalové
genitive	rivala	rivalů
dative	rivalovi, rivalu	rivalům
accusative	rivala	rivaly
vocative	rivale	rivalové
locative	rivalovi, rivalu	rivalech
instrumental	rivalem	rivaly

Related terms

• rivalita
• rivalizovat
• rivalský
• rivalství

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rīvālis (literally “person using the same stream as another”), from rīvus (“small stream, brook”). Unrelated to rive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁi.val/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

Adjective

rival (feminine rivale, masculine plural rivaux, feminine plural rivales)

1. (relational) rival

Noun

rival m (plural rivaux, feminine rivale)

1. rival

Descendants

• → Norwegian Bokmål: rival

Further reading

• “rival”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• avril, livra, viral

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʁiˈvaːl]
• Hyphenation: ri‧val

Adjective

rival (strong nominative masculine singular rivaler, not comparable)

1. (economics, of a good) rivalrous
   • 2012, Michael Goldhammer, Geistiges Eigentum und Eigentumstheorie, Mohr Siebeck, page 196:

     Als zweites Argument gegen die Möglichkeit von geistigem Eigentum wird häufig vorgebracht, dass immaterielle Güter ihrer Natur nach nicht rival seien […]

     As a second argument against the possibility of intellectual property, it is often brought forward that immaterial goods are not rivalrous by nature

Declension

Positive forms of rival (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist rival	sie ist rival	es ist rival	sie sind rival
strong declension (without article)	nominative	rivaler	rivale	rivales	rivale
	genitive	rivalen	rivaler	rivalen	rivaler
	dative	rivalem	rivaler	rivalem	rivalen
	accusative	rivalen	rivale	rivales	rivale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der rivale	die rivale	das rivale	die rivalen
	genitive	des rivalen	der rivalen	des rivalen	der rivalen
	dative	dem rivalen	der rivalen	dem rivalen	den rivalen
	accusative	den rivalen	die rivale	das rivale	die rivalen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein rivaler	eine rivale	ein rivales	(keine) rivalen
	genitive	eines rivalen	einer rivalen	eines rivalen	(keiner) rivalen
	dative	einem rivalen	einer rivalen	einem rivalen	(keinen) rivalen
	accusative	einen rivalen	eine rivale	ein rivales	(keine) rivalen

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French rival (“rival”), from Latin rīvālis (“of or pertaining to a brook; rival”), from rīvus (“brook; channel”), from Proto-Italic *rīwos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃riH-wó-s, from *h₃reyH- (“to move, flow”), from *h₃er- (“to move, stir”).

Noun

rival m (definite singular rivalen, indefinite plural rivaler, definite plural rivalene)

1. a rival

Derived terms

• erkerival

References

• “rival” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin rivalis, via French rival.

Noun

rival m (definite singular rivalen, indefinite plural rivalar, definite plural rivalane)

1. a rival

Derived terms

• erkerival

References

• “rival” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁiˈvaw/ [hiˈvaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁiˈvaw/ [hiˈvaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁiˈvaw/ [χiˈvaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁiˈval/ [ʁiˈvaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁiˈval/ [ʁiˈvaɫ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁiˈbal/ [ʁiˈβaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁiˈva.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: ri‧val

Noun

rival m or f by sense (plural rivais)

1. rival (competitor with the same objective)

   Synonyms: adversário, oponente

Adjective

rival m or f (plural rivais)

1. rival (standing in competition)

Related terms

• rio

Further reading

• “rival”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French rival, from Latin rivalis.

Noun

rival m (plural rivali)

1. rival

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	rival	rivalul		rivali	rivalii
genitive-dative	rival	rivalului		rivali	rivalilor
vocative	rivalule			rivalilor

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rǐʋaːl/
• Hyphenation: ri‧val

Noun

rìvāl m anim (Cyrillic spelling рѝва̄л)

1. rival, adversary

Declension

Declension of rival

	singular	plural
nominative	rìvāl	rivali
genitive	rivála	riválā
dative	rivalu	rivalima
accusative	rivala	rivale
vocative	rivale	rivali
locative	rivalu	rivalima
instrumental	rivalom	rivalima

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin rīvālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /riˈbal/ [riˈβ̞al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ri‧val

Adjective

rival m or f (masculine and feminine plural rivales)

1. rival
2. adverse

   Synonym: adverso

Noun

rival m or f by sense (plural rivales)

1. rival

   Synonyms: adversario, antagonista, competidor, contrario, oponente

Derived terms

• archirrival
• rivalizar

Related terms

• rivalidad

Further reading

• “rival”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin rivalis, via French rival.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

rival c

1. rival

Declension

Declension of rival

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	rival	rivals
	definite	rivalen	rivalens
plural	indefinite	rivaler	rivalers
	definite	rivalerna	rivalernas

Related terms

• rivalitet

Further reading

• rival in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
• rival in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Anagrams

• vilar