strive

play

verb \ ˈstrīv \

Definition of strive

strove play \ˈstrōv\ also strived play \ˈstrīvd\; striven play \ˈstri-vən\ or strived; striving play \ˈstrī-viŋ\

intransitive verb

1 :to devote serious effort or energy :endeavor

strive to finish a project

2 :to struggle in opposition :contend

—

striver

play \ˈstrī-vər\ noun

See strive defined for English-language learners

See strive defined for kids

Examples of strive in a Sentence

We must all strive to do better.
She always strives for perfection.
They continue to strive toward their goals.

Recent Examples of strive from the Web

Lee gives the best performance in the film as the stoic and striving Ye Win, searching not even for the American dream, but simply a place to call home.

— katie walsh, idahostatesman, "‘All Saints’ is a sweet story, even if the storytelling falters," 24 Aug. 2017
The new chief strives to be open hearted and open minded.

— marcos bretón, sacbee, "How a white woman from Minnesota raised Sacramento’s first black police chief," 11 Aug. 2017
Carol Deptolla strives to dine anonymously, with food and drink paid for by the Journal Sentinel.

— carol deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A taste of something great at EsterEv," 10 Aug. 2017
After all, no writer toils just for the sake of toiling: In rewriting or reimagining a particular story, Hemingway was striving to fashion a finished product whose seams would not show.

— peter tonguette, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway' reveals much – maybe too much," 9 Aug. 2017
Having created countless problems by turning to agriculture, rich societies have little choice but to press on: working, striving and inventing, even as this progress creates more problems in need of solving.

— The Economist, "Living off the land," 20 July 2017
There is no ideal form to strive for; there’s only life, and there’s more than one way to grow up strong.

— claire comstock-gay, The Cut, "Madame Clairevoyant: Horoscopes for the Week of July 17," 17 July 2017
Marco Ribeiro, a graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle, strives to understand the black box by using a class of AI neuroscience tools called counter-factual probes.

— paul voosen, Science | AAAS, "How AI detectives are cracking open the black box of deep learning," 6 July 2017
Particle physicists strive to understand the inner workings of the universe by smashing subatomic particles together with enormous energies to blast out exotic new bits of matter.

— science news staff, Science | AAAS, "AI is changing how we do science. Get a glimpse," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'strive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of strive

Middle English, to quarrel, contend, fight, endeavor, from Anglo-French estriver to quarrel, from estri, estrif strife — more at strife

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First Known Use: 13th century

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strive Synonyms

Synonyms

bang away, beaver (away), dig (away), drudge, endeavor, fag, grub, hump, hustle, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, slave, slog, strain, labor, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, tug, work

Related Words

apply (oneself), buckle (down), dig in, hammer (away), knuckle down, pitch in; attack, drive; essay, try; exercise, exert, overexert, overwork; eke out, grind (out), put out, scrabble, scratch; trudge, wade

Near Antonyms

break, ease (up), let up, slacken; bum, chill, dally, dillydally, footle, goldbrick, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk, slack (off), veg out; bask, loll, relax, repose, rest, unwind; dabble, doodle, fool around, fribble, goof (around), hang, hang about [British], mess around, monkey (around), play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle

Synonym Discussion of strive

attempt, try, endeavor, essay, strive mean to make an effort to accomplish an end. attempt stresses the initiation or beginning of an effort.

- will attempt to photograph the rare bird

try is often close to attempt but may stress effort or experiment made in the hope of testing or proving something.

- tried to determine which was the better procedure

endeavor heightens the implications of exertion and difficulty.

- endeavored to find crash survivors in the mountains

essay implies difficulty but also suggests tentative trying or experimenting.

- will essay a dramatic role for the first time

strive implies great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort.

- continues to strive for peace

STRIVE Defined for English Language Learners

strive

play

verb

Definition of strive for English Language Learners

: to try very hard to do or achieve something

STRIVE Defined for Kids

strive

play

verb \ ˈstrīv \

Definition of strive for Students

strove \ˈstrōv\; striven \ˈstri-vən\ or strived; striving \ˈstrī-viŋ\

:to try very hard

We will strive to win.

Learn More about strive

See words that rhyme with strive Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for strive Spanish Central: Translation of strive Nglish: Translation of strive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of strive for Arabic speakers

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strive

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Examples of strive in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of strive

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Synonyms

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Synonym Discussion of strive

STRIVE Defined for English Language Learners

strive

Definition of strive for English Language Learners

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strive

Definition of strive for Students

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