noun.
Love of superiority; desire or ambition to equal or excel others; the instinct that incites to effort for the attainment of equal or superior excellence or estimation in any respect.
noun.
Effort to equal or excel in qualities or actions; imitative rivalry, as of that which one admires in another or others: as, the emulation of great actions, or of the rich by the poor.
noun.
Antagonistic rivalry; malicious or injurious contention; strife for superiority.
noun.
Synonyms and Emulation, Competition, Rivalry. The natural love of superiority is known as emulation; in common use the word signifies the desire and the resulting endeavor to equal or surpass another or others in some quality, attainment, or achievement. It is intrinsically neutral both as to time and motive, but it is most frequently applied to the relations of contemporaries or associates, and to feelings and efforts of an honorable nature. Competition is the act of striving against others; the word is used only where the object to be attained is pretty clearly in mind, and that object is not mere superiority, but some definite thing: as, competition for a prize; competition in business. Rivalry, unless qualified by some favorable adjective, is generally a contest in which the competitors push their several interests in an ungenerous spirit, malignant feelings being easily a result. Rivalry may be general in its character: as, the rivalry between two states or cities; in such cases it may be friendly and honorable.