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
On one hand, some argue that Good was attempting to leave the scene, and a trigger-happy ICE agent fired his weapon at her, an abuse of authority.
—
Andrew Adeolu, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Rushing to get on board with your carry-on may seem like a good idea (there’s only so much overhead bin space, after all), but attempting to take shortcuts during the boarding process can actually delay your travels even more.
—Jillian Dara, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Fearing blackmail and attempting to deny his true leanings, Maurice has been fending off Alec’s advances since their encounter, and now, offended at being rebuffed, Alec has been threatening to publicly expose him.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2026
Emery Lehman, the Oak Park native and one of the fastest speedskaters in the world, was in that moment attempting to qualify for his fourth consecutive Olympics.
—Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
When Oregon answered with a score, and Indiana punted, the Ducks quickly moved downfield while attempting to halve their deficit.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026
Troconis’ case for being a cooperating witness was shattered when Dulos died after attempting to commit suicide in January 2020, Bowman testified.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026
Journalists’ video analyses have argued that Good appeared to be attempting to turn her car away from the agents.
—Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Rather than attempting to match the PLA ship for ship or aircraft for aircraft, Taiwan aims to complicate any potential invasion or blockade by exploiting technologies that can exact a high cost in men and materiel for an attacker.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Jan. 2026
Andrew Adeolu, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Rushing to get on board with your carry-on may seem like a good idea (there’s only so much overhead bin space, after all), but attempting to take shortcuts during the boarding process can actually delay your travels even more.
—Jillian Dara, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Fearing blackmail and attempting to deny his true leanings, Maurice has been fending off Alec’s advances since their encounter, and now, offended at being rebuffed, Alec has been threatening to publicly expose him.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2026
Emery Lehman, the Oak Park native and one of the fastest speedskaters in the world, was in that moment attempting to qualify for his fourth consecutive Olympics.
—Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
When Oregon answered with a score, and Indiana punted, the Ducks quickly moved downfield while attempting to halve their deficit.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026
Troconis’ case for being a cooperating witness was shattered when Dulos died after attempting to commit suicide in January 2020, Bowman testified.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026
Journalists’ video analyses have argued that Good appeared to be attempting to turn her car away from the agents.
—Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Rather than attempting to match the PLA ship for ship or aircraft for aircraft, Taiwan aims to complicate any potential invasion or blockade by exploiting technologies that can exact a high cost in men and materiel for an attacker.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attempting
Verb
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Witnesses and local leaders have contradicted that claim, saying Good was trying to leave and steering away from the agent.—
Michael Abeyta,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
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Imagine trying to build a sturdy wall with bricks that keep floating away into thin air—that’s essentially what happens when cathode material dissolves in a thermal battery.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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For instance, energy-rich Saudi Arabia is striving to become the third largest AI market in the world, while leading players in France and Israel are pledging to lead in specialized AI applications.—
Boris Babic,
Fortune,
3 Jan. 2026
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Meanwhile, first-year head coach Bucky McMillan is striving to win his third straight conference title.—
Tony Catalina,
Austin American Statesman,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Attempting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attempting. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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