Contend
Contend verb - To engage in a contest.
Usage example: two traditional rivals contending for the championship
Rival
Rival verb - To engage in a contest.
Usage example: two longtime friends who have rivaled for the same things at every stage of their lives
Contend is a synonym for rival in contest topic. You can use "Contend" instead a verb "Rival", if it concerns topics such as conflict, oppose, compete with, compete. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
| character | contend character | rival character |
Both words in one sentence
-
However, Jason won't stop killing, so Freddy ended up with a rival to contend to.
Source: Dragon-in-Chief -
Retief must contend with and solve problems involving a wide variety of bizarre alien species, while outwitting the main rival of the Terrans, the five-eyed, vaguely insectoid Groacibut his primary obstacle often seems to be the hidebound Vast Bureaucracy he works for.
Source: Literature / Retief - In Grim Fandango, the hero's rival Domino has been dead for over a year, but the good guys still have to contend with a deadly booby-trap he's laid for them when they finally get back to Rubacava to find the hiding place of their car.
Source: Post Mortem Comeback
Cite this Source
Rival and Contend. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/contend/rival
Contend & Rival. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/contend/rival>.
Rival or Contend. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/contend/rival.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "contend" and "rival" have occurred on timeline