dark horses

noun

plural of dark horse
1
as in stalking horses

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in long shots

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dark horses
  1. competitors
  2. plays
  3. favorites
  4. contestants
  5. entrants
  6. qualifiers
  7. entries
  8. candidates
Noun
  • Compared with three of its biggest competitors—ORLY, AZO, and AAP—GPC has performed noticeably better over the last quarter and change.
    — Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The Winner Receives a National Prize Package The public voting rounds gradually narrow the field until the final competitors remain.
    — Ethan M. Stone, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • The three goals Chelsea conceded came from set-piece plays — the first being triggered by a home corner that Brighton successfully countered.
    — Jon Mackenzie, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The Green Bay Packers quarterback called plays during the second half of the team's preseason finale.
    — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of plays
Noun
  • Naturally, some of our favorites happen to be in the women’s designer sale section.
    — Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
  • And this year’s menu reflects some through-the-years favorites, including some that have been re-imagined.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • Failure to comply with the rules would result in disqualification for contestants.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • There are two more groups of contestants in the next round, followed by a semifinals round, and then the finals.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • The $4 million will be invested over the next three years in supporting new entrants and re-skilling mid-career professionals.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The energy apprenticeship pipeline only had 45,000 entrants in 2024, but really needs 65,000 professionals flowing in yearly to close the labor supply gap.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of entrants
Noun
  • For the first time in quite a while, the western and eastern Europe qualifiers have been merged into one super qualifier, featuring top teams from both regions.
    — Mike Stubbs, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Definition of qualifiers
Noun
  • Thailand has submitted films for the category since 1984 and has sent 33 entries in total without once reaching the nominations stage.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Siniaková and Patten, along with a clutch of other top doubles teams, had to come through qualifying, because main-draw entries were allocated by combined singles ranking.
    — James Hansen, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of entries
Noun
  • If Woltemade leaves then Wissa, Joe Willock, who is set to stay, and Jacob Ramsey are the obvious candidates to compete to play there.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • During a meeting last week, officials held drawings to determine the order that candidates' names will appear on the ballot.
    — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of candidates
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.

Browse Nearby Words

dark horse
dark horses
darkish
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Cite this Entry

“Dark horses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dark%20horses. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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