rival

English

Etymology

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

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.
   • 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.

   Chris is my biggest rival in the 400-metre race.

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.
   • William Shakespeare

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

Derived terms

• rivalry
• archrival, arch-rival

Translations

competitor with the same objective

• Arabic: مُنَافِس‎ m (munāfis)
• Bulgarian: съперник (bg) m (sǎpérnik), съперница f (sǎpérnica), противник (bg) m (protívnik), противница f (protívnica), противничка f (protivnička)
• Catalan: rival (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 對手 (zh), 对手 (zh) (duìshǒu), 敵手 (zh), 敌手 (zh) (díshǒu)

• Czech: soupeř (cs) m, sok (cs) m, rival m
• Dutch: tegenstander (nl), rivaal (nl), concurent, vijand (nl)
• Esperanto: rivalo
• Finnish: kilpailija (fi)
• French: rival (fr) m
• Georgian: მეტოქე (meṭoke), რაყიფი (raq̇ipi) (archaic)
• German: Gegner (de) m, Rivale (de) m, Konkurrent (de) m
• Greek: αντίζηλος (el) m (antízilos), ανταγωνιστής (el) m (antagonistís)

  Ancient: ἀντίπαλος m (antípalos), ἀγωνιστής m (agōnistḗs)

• Hungarian: rivális (hu), vetélytárs (hu)

• Indonesian: lawan (id), penentang (id), musun
• Italian: rivale (it) m, competitore (it), antagonista (it) m, avversario (it)
• Japanese: ライバル (raibaru), 敵 (ja) (てき, teki, かたき, kataki)
• Latin: aemulus m, aemula m
• Maori: wheinga, hoa kakari
• Mongolian: өрсөлдөгч (mn) (örsöldögč)
• Polish: rywal (pl)
• Portuguese: rival (pt) m, f, adversário (pt) m, competidor (pt) m
• Romanian: rival (ro)
• 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
• Spanish: rival (es) m
• Tagalog: kaagaw
• Turkish: rakip (tr)

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

• 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, 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

   • Macaulay

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

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To oppose or compete with.

   to rival somebody in love

2. To be equal to, or match, or to surpass another.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess‎^[1]:

     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.
   • Dryden

     to rival thunder in its rapid course

Translations

to oppose or compete with

• Finnish: kilpailla (fi)
• French: rivaliser (fr)
• German: rivalisieren
• Greek: ανταγωνίζομαι (el) (antagonízomai), παραβγαίνω (el) (paravgaíno)

• Hungarian: rivalizál, verseng (hu)
• Italian: rivaleggiare (it), competere (it)
• Maori: taumāhekeheke, tauwhāinga
• Russian: сопе́рничать (ru) (sopérničatʹ), конкури́ровать (ru) (konkurírovatʹ)

To be equal to, or match

• Maori: kātata, tāwhai

emulate

Anagrams

• Avril, arvil, viral

---

Catalan

Adjective

rival (masculine and feminine plural rivals)

1. rival

Derived terms

• rivalitzar

Related terms

• rivalitat

Noun

rival m, f (plural rivals)

1. rival

Further reading

• “rival” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

---

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)

Adjective

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

1. rival (attributively)

Noun

rival m (plural rivaux, feminine rivale)

1. rival

Further reading

• “rival” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• avril, livra, viral

---

German

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

rival (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

Declension of rival

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
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 Latin rivalis, via French rival

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

Noun

rival m, f (plural rivais)

1. rival (competitor with the same objective)

Synonyms

• adversário, oponente

Adjective

rival m, f (plural rivais, comparable)

1. rival (standing in competition)

Related terms

• rio

---

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

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

Noun

rìvāl m (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

Adjective

rival (plural rivales)

1. adverse, rival

Noun

rival m, f (plural rivales)

1. rival

Synonyms

• adversario
• antagonista
• competidor
• contrario
• oponente

Related terms

• rivalidad
• rivalizar

---

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin rivalis, via French rival.

Noun

rival c

1. rival

Declension

Declension of rival
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	rival	rivalen	rivaler	rivalerna
Genitive	rivals	rivalens	rivalers	rivalernas