Synonyms of attempting

attempting

verb

present participle of attempt

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trying
• striving
• seeking
• endeavoring
• essaying
• assaying
• hoping
• shooting at
• struggling
• aiming
• having a go at
• working
• trying one's hand (at)
• toiling
• fighting
• undertaking
• troubling
• aspiring
• straining
• assuming
• taking up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dropping
• giving up
• quitting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of attempting

Everything has unintended consequences, and attempting to capture these trade-offs across the whole ecosystem — much of which sits outside of a brand’s control — would paralyze even the most proactive nature lead. — Bella Webb, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026

Soliman pleaded guilty to nine federal counts of hate crimes, including one resulting in Diamond’s death and eight for attempting to kill other demonstrators. — Thomas Peipert, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Qatar strongly denied the allegations Thursday, accusing Israeli politicians of attempting to drag the Gulf nation into Israel's domestic political disputes following the election. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Passengers should politely ask their seatmate to move rather than attempting to climb over them, which can cause injuries. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 29 Oct. 2026

The new system detects when the user is attempting to speak and automatically starts or stops the decoding process. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026

The next highest is 33, and that’s noteworthy, as Sam Darnold hasn’t reached even 14 points when attempting fewer than 40 passes this year. — Jake Ciely, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Two people who survived that September 2025 strike were attempting to climb back onto the boat before it was hit a second time, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News. — CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

Towns suffered a wrist injury as Bulls forward Noa Essengue collided with the Knicks star attempting to run through a screen during the first quarter. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 28 Oct. 2026