# rival vs rivalry

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### rival
*noun · IPA /ˈɹaɪvəl/ · frequency rank #5,355*
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.

### rivalry
*noun · IPA /ˈɹaɪ.vəl.ɹi/ · frequency rank #9,664*
An ongoing relationship between (usually two) rivals who compete for superiority.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rival-vs-rivalry