1. (n.) A person having a common right or privilege with another; a partner.

2. (n.) One who is in pursuit of the same object as another; one striving to reach or obtain something which another is attempting to obtain, and which one only can posses; a competitor; as, rivals in love; rivals for a crown.

3. (a.) Having the same pretensions or claims; standing in competition for superiority; as, rival lovers; rival claims or pretensions.

4. (v. t.) To stand in competition with; to strive to gain some object in opposition to; as, to rival one in love.

5. (v. t.) To strive to equal or excel; to emulate.

6. (v. i.) To be in rivalry.

admit of comparison adversary adversative adverse alien amount to antagonist antagonistic antagonize anti antipathetic antithetic approach attempt balance battle battler be commensurable be comparable beat against beat up against belligerent belted knight bickerer blade bravo brawler break even breast the wave buck buffet buffet the waves bully bullyboy challenge challenge comparison clashing close with coequal combat combatant come to come up to compare compare to compare with compeer compete compete with competing competition competitive competitor con conflicting contend contend against contend with contender contest contestant contradictory contrary cope correspond correspond to corrival counter counterpart cross cutthroat disaccordant disputant dissentient ditto draw duelist emulate emulator emulous enemy enforcer entrant equal equipollent equivalent even even off fellow fencer feuder fight fight against fighter fighting cock foilsman fractious gamecock gladiator goon gorilla grapple with hatchet man hood hoodlum hooligan hostile in competition in rivalry inimical jockey join battle with jouster keep pace with knight knot labor against like match match up with mate measure up measure up to meet militant militate against negative noncooperative not compare with obstinate offer resistance opponent oppose opposed opposing opposite opposite number opposition oppositional oppositive oppugnant outvie overthwart parallel partake of peer perverse player plug-ugly quarreler reach recalcitrant refractory reluct reluctate repugnant resemble rioter rivaling rough rowdy ruffian run abreast run to sabreur scrapper scuffler squabbler stack up with stem the tide strive strive against strong arm strong-arm man strong-armer struggle struggle against struggle with struggler swashbuckler sword swordplayer swordsman take on test one another the field thug tie tilter touch tough try tussler twin uncooperative unfavorable unfriendly unpropitious vie vie with vier vying wrangler