candidates

noun

plural of candidate
as in applicants
one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award each candidate for town council was allowed to speak at the candidates' forum

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 candidates That’s thanks to two Democratic incumbents running more strongly than expected in more conservative districts, but also to candidates like Garcia, who’s running neck-and-neck against his GOP rival. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026 Their Students' List of candidates includes various experts in their fields with little or no experience in politics or state jobs. — Jovana Gec, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026 Politics as usual As midterm elections approach, candidates up and down the ballot are blanketing the airwaves and digital channels with ads against data centers. — Barbara A. Trish, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026 Men with high-risk prostate cancer and low Decipher scores may face a lower risk of spread and could avoid more intensive therapy, while those with high scores may be the strongest candidates for additional treatment. — Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026 One solution is to ask voters to rank the candidates, then choose whoever would defeat every rival in a head-to-head contest. — Alex Stone, Quanta Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026 The deadline for candidates is 18 November so all eyes in the meantime will be on Wenger. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 26 Oct. 2026 In a rare but not unprecedented turn of events, polls were extended for two hours on Sunday night after both candidates made requests. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2026 Find out how candidates are polling in competitive Senate races. — Josephine Murphy, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for candidates
  1. applicants
  2. contenders
  3. hopefuls
Noun
  • For next year’s admissions, institutions would have to publish more detailed selection criteria and explain rejections when applicants request reasons.
    — Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Apparently desperate to expand its pool of applicants, the FBI is now actually considering individuals who have documented histories of animal abuse and bestiality.
    — Diana Urban, Hartford Courant, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of applicants
Noun
  • And the way the French election works is that there’s a first round for the Presidential contenders and then the two front-runners go forward.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Among the contenders was the 38-year-old New Zealander then best known for the miniseries Reilly, Ace of Spies and Omen III — and still seven years away from Jurassic Park.
    — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of contenders
Noun
  • But a crop of Senate candidates in more conservative-leaning states like Iowa, Texas, Kansas and Ohio, and Democratic hopefuls in newly competitive House districts, have surged in polls and fundraising.
    — Stephen Fowler, NPR, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Folger is one of thousands of hopefuls aiming to beat the odds as Hollywood implodes.
    — Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of hopefuls

Browse Nearby Words

candidate
candidates
candidly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Candidates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/candidates. Accessed 28 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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All