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
While attempting to grab the suspect, authorities believe the agent’s weapon discharged, striking both the suspect and a deputy US marshal.
—
Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Alexis Correa, who DHS claimed was the driver and a member of the Latin Kings, allegedly followed agents for several miles before attempting to ram the vehicle.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
The movie tries to pick up the threads of previous films, but, in attempting to make Myers more mystical, this film robs him of his knife-edge menace.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
At least three of those individuals fought with agents attempting to detain them and were charged with assaulting a federal officer.
—Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
According to this speculation, WWE might be attempting to use the leverage of a potential one-year non-compete clause as a way to persuade Andrade to return to the company.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
These passive sensors feed data via fiber-optic links to onshore command centers, allowing the Russian Navy to track allied submarines attempting to shadow its strategic assets.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Anti-ICE activists filed a lawsuit earlier this year attempting to block these arrests from occurring, a lawsuit the Justice Department has asked a federal court to dismiss.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 18 Oct. 2025
Advertisement In a press conference on Thursday, organizers accused Republicans of attempting to intimidate people from attending.
—Richard Hall, Time, 18 Oct. 2025
Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Alexis Correa, who DHS claimed was the driver and a member of the Latin Kings, allegedly followed agents for several miles before attempting to ram the vehicle.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
The movie tries to pick up the threads of previous films, but, in attempting to make Myers more mystical, this film robs him of his knife-edge menace.
—Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
At least three of those individuals fought with agents attempting to detain them and were charged with assaulting a federal officer.
—Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
According to this speculation, WWE might be attempting to use the leverage of a potential one-year non-compete clause as a way to persuade Andrade to return to the company.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
These passive sensors feed data via fiber-optic links to onshore command centers, allowing the Russian Navy to track allied submarines attempting to shadow its strategic assets.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Anti-ICE activists filed a lawsuit earlier this year attempting to block these arrests from occurring, a lawsuit the Justice Department has asked a federal court to dismiss.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 18 Oct. 2025
Advertisement In a press conference on Thursday, organizers accused Republicans of attempting to intimidate people from attending.
—Richard Hall, Time, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attempting
Verb
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Others were trying to find a place in a growing narrative of American exceptionalism.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
26 Oct. 2025
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The risk to coffee production from climate change has some researchers trying to develop more climate-resistant varieties of coffee.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The letter was addressed to tech companies like Google, OpenAI and Meta Platforms, which are currently striving and competing against one another to build artificial intelligence that can match or even surpass the human mind.—
Stephanie Petit,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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Sweet Vincent, written and directed by Ciara Boniface, centers a professional jazz musician reconciling with an old flame during a pivotal performance, both haunted by grief and striving for connection.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attempting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attempting. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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