as in trying
to make an effort to do
after attempting—and failing—to start the lawn mower on my own, I finally succeeded with a neighbor's help don't even attempt walking on your broken foot
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Recent Examples of attempting
IndyStar is attempting to reach that man.
—
Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 4 Oct. 2025
The city received the inquiry while its lawyers were in court attempting to stop the deployment of National Guard troops to help protect federal property.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Putting things in order Throughout the 1960s, Piaget observed that young children rely on clunky trial-and-error methods rather than systematic strategies when attempting to order objects according to some continuous quantitative dimension, like length.
—Celeste Kidd, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
The suspect, Jeffrey Lowe, 28, had broken into his ex-boyfriend’s residence and was attempting to put a zip tie on him when the man woke up, police said.
—Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Having set off from home in the east of England in March this year, the pair are attempting to cycle around the entire world.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
An organization called Stop the Clinic has been attempting to prevent the Las Cruces center from being built, in part by urging local companies to refuse to work on the project.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
At the time, Morales-Reyes testified that Scott had cut him under his armpit with a corkscrew while attempting to rob him of his bicycle.
—Eva Wen, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
In the picture, a large brown bear stands at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve as a sockeye salmon, attempting to make its way over the rapids, lands in the predator’s powerful jaws.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2025
Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 4 Oct. 2025
The city received the inquiry while its lawyers were in court attempting to stop the deployment of National Guard troops to help protect federal property.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Putting things in order Throughout the 1960s, Piaget observed that young children rely on clunky trial-and-error methods rather than systematic strategies when attempting to order objects according to some continuous quantitative dimension, like length.
—Celeste Kidd, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
The suspect, Jeffrey Lowe, 28, had broken into his ex-boyfriend’s residence and was attempting to put a zip tie on him when the man woke up, police said.
—Tj MacIas, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Having set off from home in the east of England in March this year, the pair are attempting to cycle around the entire world.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
An organization called Stop the Clinic has been attempting to prevent the Las Cruces center from being built, in part by urging local companies to refuse to work on the project.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
At the time, Morales-Reyes testified that Scott had cut him under his armpit with a corkscrew while attempting to rob him of his bicycle.
—Eva Wen, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025
In the picture, a large brown bear stands at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve as a sockeye salmon, attempting to make its way over the rapids, lands in the predator’s powerful jaws.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attempting
Verb
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What are Louisville and Kentucky leaders trying to achieve with all the road work downtown?—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Reliever Luke Weaver melted down again, and then seemed lost trying to explain it postgame.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This is especially true for the young Latine children and families who are striving to learn the local language and customs of a country that’s already waging war against them.—
Priscilla Blossom,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
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Utah’s state government posted a message on its website this week that officials are monitoring events in Washington connected with national park funding and are striving to protect the national parks in Utah.—
Jeanne Bonner,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attempting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attempting. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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