1
as in tries
an effort to do or accomplish something
it took several attempts before we made good ice cream with an old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream freezer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in attacks
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
several attempts on the life of the country's chief drug enforcement official
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in strives
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of attempts
Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Lifetime, Prater was 23-of-24 on those attempts that happened in the last two minutes of regulation or in overtime.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Choosing a carry-on that’s large enough to accommodate your packing needs is crucial; without it, your attempts at saving space will likely fall flat.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
Green’s rushing yards were the most by an Arkansas quarterback since Mark Calcagni ran for 160 yards on 22 attempts out of the Flexbone during a 30-15 victory at Rice in 1985.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2025
In a game that featured just four pass attempts, Weymouth controlled the tempo with 427 yards on the ground and not a single pass attempt to secure a 42-0 victory over rival Braintree.
—Brian Roach, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Cook completed 25 passes on 38 attempts this preseason for 235 yards and one touchdown.
—Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
Despite the captain and crew's attempts to correct course, the Barker ended up stranded on Spider Island, just off Newport State Park.
—Maia Pandey, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
This was a clear signal that Russia’s attempts to compartmentalize the Ukrainian war and to normalize ties in other areas had failed.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2025
Katlein Franca, Health, 8 Sep. 2025
Previous attempts to apprehend the motorist were unsuccessful.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Sir Oliver Lodge had been actively engaged in ghost hunting and attempts to contact the dead both before and throughout the war, and the rest of the Lodge family shared his interest.
—Alice Vernon
september 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Vanderbilt attempts the same in his film’s final act.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
Similarly, some attempts to use algicides also proved ineffective.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The fictional paper in question is the Toledo Truth Teller, and its new editor-in-chief, Ned Sampson (Gleeson), attempts to revive the dying publication with the help of volunteer reporters.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
The Rockies are in a full-scale youth movement as the organization attempts to pull itself out of a seven-year slump that now includes three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2025
Crone’s Mindset Optimization Techniques Focusing on the individual’s mindset, Crone first attempts to identify the internal convictions that constrain them.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
And the algicide attempts may not have worked because the biomass of blue-green algae was just too large for effects to be detected.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Lifetime, Prater was 23-of-24 on those attempts that happened in the last two minutes of regulation or in overtime.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Choosing a carry-on that’s large enough to accommodate your packing needs is crucial; without it, your attempts at saving space will likely fall flat.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
Green’s rushing yards were the most by an Arkansas quarterback since Mark Calcagni ran for 160 yards on 22 attempts out of the Flexbone during a 30-15 victory at Rice in 1985.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2025
In a game that featured just four pass attempts, Weymouth controlled the tempo with 427 yards on the ground and not a single pass attempt to secure a 42-0 victory over rival Braintree.
—Brian Roach, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Cook completed 25 passes on 38 attempts this preseason for 235 yards and one touchdown.
—Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
Despite the captain and crew's attempts to correct course, the Barker ended up stranded on Spider Island, just off Newport State Park.
—Maia Pandey, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2025
This was a clear signal that Russia’s attempts to compartmentalize the Ukrainian war and to normalize ties in other areas had failed.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2025
Verb
As the body attempts to repair this damage, the healing process may not be complete or smooth, resulting in scars.
—Katlein Franca, Health, 8 Sep. 2025
Previous attempts to apprehend the motorist were unsuccessful.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Sir Oliver Lodge had been actively engaged in ghost hunting and attempts to contact the dead both before and throughout the war, and the rest of the Lodge family shared his interest.
—Alice Vernon
september 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Vanderbilt attempts the same in his film’s final act.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025
Similarly, some attempts to use algicides also proved ineffective.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The fictional paper in question is the Toledo Truth Teller, and its new editor-in-chief, Ned Sampson (Gleeson), attempts to revive the dying publication with the help of volunteer reporters.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
The Rockies are in a full-scale youth movement as the organization attempts to pull itself out of a seven-year slump that now includes three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2025
Crone’s Mindset Optimization Techniques Focusing on the individual’s mindset, Crone first attempts to identify the internal convictions that constrain them.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attempts
Noun
-
How To Play Wordle Wordle is a daily word puzzle game where your goal is to guess a hidden five-letter word in six tries or fewer.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Those seven tries produced zero first downs.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Despite the downward pressure on cost of cyber attacks, the sector continues to grow, as more companies treat cyber security incidents as a top priority.—
Ganesh Rao,
CNBC,
4 Sep. 2025
-
This prevents many attacks that use lookalike domain names or hacks such as DNS cache poisoning to create rogue sites masquerading as the real, trusted ones.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Now retired, Andra loved her job working for the federal government and strives to make a difference in the world around her.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
-
The brand strives to offer a premium denim look at prices more accessible than other premium denim brands.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
These nation-wide country-goes-city celebrations of agricultural bounty, mechanical innovations and skilled handcrafts have been drawing crowds since the first fair was held in upstate New York in 1841.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Across the street is a police station, where federal agents gathered before immigration raids.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The Durham City Council passed the resolution on Tuesday with a unanimous vote to shield city workers against raids and arrests carried out by federal officials, according to The Duke Chronicle.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That did actually happen, but Van Sant and screenwriter Austin Kolodny make some additional stabs at turning Fred into the spine of the picture, structuring the movie around his broadcasts — a filmmaking convention that doesn’t really bring anything new to this particular story.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Shorter sci-fi stabs meet surging upward flourishes which also link Believe stylistically to disco and Hi-NRG, associating the track with certain gay subcultural histories.—
Angelica Frey,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Investigators later confirmed his DNA matched evidence from that case and others, including attacks in Okemos, Michigan, in 1994; Birmingham, Michigan, in 1995; and Columbus, Ohio, in 1997, as well as two assaults in Ventura in the early 1980s.—
Nour Rahal,
Freep.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
In August, Russia’s aerial assaults on Ukraine slowed markedly, with 4,288 projectiles raining down on Ukrainian cities, an average of 138 per day.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Sunday’s strikes involved 823 drones and missiles and killed four people, including a mother and baby.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
And a belief long voiced by many in the region of Israel’s intention to sabotage peace talks has only been fortified by Tuesday’s strikes.—
Paula Hancocks,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attempts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attempts. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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