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
Relevance
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
Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
The Hawks missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the quarter.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
However, the attempts at intervention were too late.
—Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
But critics warn that attempts to impose other financial consequences on Iran could ultimately backfire on the United States and its allies.
—Rafi Schwartz, TheWeek, 20 Apr. 2026
During that texting period, between April 6 and April 17, Buetikofer made several attempts to move the conversation to Snapchat, requested images of the student and suggested meeting in person.
—Alicia Fabbre, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
Strong antivirus software can warn you about suspicious websites, block malicious downloads and help stop phishing attempts that try to steal your financial information.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2026
The All-Star guard scored 21 points but shot 8-for-20 from the field and generated just five free-throw attempts.
—Zack Cox, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026
Such desperate attempts at grandiosity evoke empty vanity, clutching at physical monuments to prove a greatness that history has not yet conferred.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2026
Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026
One of my neighbors called 911 and helped with the first CPR attempts.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
The secret nearly allows Echo to win, but the next day in a nail-biting finish, Liquid defeated the last boss after 474 attempts, securing its place as the best guild in the world.
—Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
The second, Lorne, attempts to get to know the producer and comedy kingmaker responsible for the institution that is Saturday Night Live.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
Judge Dredd has two movies of varying quality, but attempts to follow the 2012 version with a TV show appear to have sputtered out.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 20 Apr. 2026
Ernest attempts to identify which of the hostages is guilty of the murder and the attempted heist.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Sinatra went 18-for-22 on field goal attempts and set the Idaho State single-season kick scoring record with 97 total points.
—Aaron Johnson, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
No one even attempts the accent, and a few kitschy phrases are not going to cut it, not even from supporting stars like Henry Winkler and Lena Headey.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 18 Apr. 2026
Noun
Not many fans would have bet, even a few weeks ago, that a return to the Bentancur and Bissoma pairing could be integral to Spurs’ attempts to stay up.
—Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
The Hawks missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the quarter.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
However, the attempts at intervention were too late.
—Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
But critics warn that attempts to impose other financial consequences on Iran could ultimately backfire on the United States and its allies.
—Rafi Schwartz, TheWeek, 20 Apr. 2026
During that texting period, between April 6 and April 17, Buetikofer made several attempts to move the conversation to Snapchat, requested images of the student and suggested meeting in person.
—Alicia Fabbre, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
Strong antivirus software can warn you about suspicious websites, block malicious downloads and help stop phishing attempts that try to steal your financial information.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2026
The All-Star guard scored 21 points but shot 8-for-20 from the field and generated just five free-throw attempts.
—Zack Cox, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026
Such desperate attempts at grandiosity evoke empty vanity, clutching at physical monuments to prove a greatness that history has not yet conferred.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
Thinking mode attempts to fix that limitation by treating image creation as a structured process, not a one-shot output.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026
One of my neighbors called 911 and helped with the first CPR attempts.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
The secret nearly allows Echo to win, but the next day in a nail-biting finish, Liquid defeated the last boss after 474 attempts, securing its place as the best guild in the world.
—Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
The second, Lorne, attempts to get to know the producer and comedy kingmaker responsible for the institution that is Saturday Night Live.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
Judge Dredd has two movies of varying quality, but attempts to follow the 2012 version with a TV show appear to have sputtered out.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 20 Apr. 2026
Ernest attempts to identify which of the hostages is guilty of the murder and the attempted heist.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Sinatra went 18-for-22 on field goal attempts and set the Idaho State single-season kick scoring record with 97 total points.
—Aaron Johnson, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
No one even attempts the accent, and a few kitschy phrases are not going to cut it, not even from supporting stars like Henry Winkler and Lena Headey.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 18 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attempts
Noun
-
There had been doubt over the 2026 launch following the second failure of the H3 in seven tries in December 2025, but the issue was soon isolated as a payload fairing separation anomaly, clearing the way for MMX to proceed.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The duck confit and salmon tagine are must-tries, and the candlelit atmosphere pairs perfectly with excellent cocktails.—
Lauren Schuster,
Miami Herald,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Both Hezbollah and Israel have have defended their attacks and claimed that the other has violated the ceasefire.—
Sarah Dean,
NBC news,
25 Apr. 2026
-
While disrupting the business of an American multinational company may seem a pallid response to the destruction of an Iranian primary school where more than a hundred children were killed, such asymmetric attacks in the physical and digital realms have been a feature of this conflict.—
Sue Halpern,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The executive said Kraken strives to make advanced trading strategies typically reserved for professional investors available to individual investors, according to Semafor.—
Tanaya Macheel,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Telemundo strives to stay out of the political fray, Garcia said.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Does this mean those pop-goes-punk comp albums are coming back?—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Except then there’s the chance of being FUNNELED, placed on the rails and headed for a very specific destination, instead of the OPEN-WORLD anything-goes of traditional D&D.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Israel’s assaults typically come with some warning — the ominous buzz of low-flying drones, and an evacuation order shared on social media by the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesman.—
Nada Bashir,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Russia launched 324 drones and three ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said, part of a broader surge in aerial assaults, according to Reuters.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Here, his stabs at form feel more purposeful.—
Emma Madden,
Pitchfork,
14 Apr. 2026
-
But his cartoons, and some early stabs at photography, were not enough to get him into a local art school.—
Chris Wiley,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
He is stripped of his business license, faces police raids and arrests, and is forced to shut down the testing centre.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Within days, the farm raids ended.—
Anna Giaritelli,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The army has retaken territory from ethnic militias, including the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which had launched powerful offensives along with pro-democracy resistance forces in northeastern Myanmar near the Chinese border and in western Myanmar.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Putin is widely expected to launch new offensives as the weather in Ukraine improves, piling further pressure on Kyiv.—
Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Attempts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attempts. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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