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
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026
There have been attempts to start up professional softball leagues before.
—Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
Those systems help operators maintain links during hostile jamming attempts.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
The DIYers weren't much more successful, as half of those attempts were either useless or made the problem even worse.
—Alora Bopray, USA Today, 8 June 2026
Neither Crisp nor Stephens responded to attempts to reach them for comment on the meeting.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 8 June 2026
Democrats, quicker to regulate in general, mostly led the attempts to crack down on social media.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 8 June 2026
In the past two months, Kennedy has made multiple attempts to issue a new ACIP charter—a key step toward reconstituting the panel.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 7 June 2026
Advertisement The resulting docuseries attempts, above all, to make Richards’ experience comprehensible—to place a familiar, utterly recognizable person at the center of a story many people assume could never touch them.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 1 June 2026
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 9 June 2026
And even as the prince attempts to reconcile with his father, there’s still a big distance between him and his brother William.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 9 June 2026
The Bee-Nav system attempts to replicate that strategy.
—New Atlas, 8 June 2026
Lucy attempts to dress in a wig and soldier’s attire and then cover herself in pancake powder from head to toe in an attempt to pose in place of the statue long enough to get through the dedication ceremony, but is exposed.
—Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
At the sheriff's station, Wade attempts to justify the shooting.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
Vampyr focuses on a young man and occultist (Nicolas de Gunzburg) who attempts to free a French village from the curse of a bloodthirsty fiend.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
The Spurs got off just three field goal attempts while succumbing to the Knicks’ defensive pressure.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
Guinevere, just like Natalie from All My Children, has an evil sister who attempts to step into her life and seduce her husband.
—Literary Hub, 3 June 2026
Noun
Dylan Harper, who has played tremendous bench minutes for San Antonio, also scored 13 on 18 shot attempts.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026
There have been attempts to start up professional softball leagues before.
—Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
Those systems help operators maintain links during hostile jamming attempts.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 June 2026
The DIYers weren't much more successful, as half of those attempts were either useless or made the problem even worse.
—Alora Bopray, USA Today, 8 June 2026
Neither Crisp nor Stephens responded to attempts to reach them for comment on the meeting.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 8 June 2026
Democrats, quicker to regulate in general, mostly led the attempts to crack down on social media.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 8 June 2026
In the past two months, Kennedy has made multiple attempts to issue a new ACIP charter—a key step toward reconstituting the panel.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 7 June 2026
Advertisement The resulting docuseries attempts, above all, to make Richards’ experience comprehensible—to place a familiar, utterly recognizable person at the center of a story many people assume could never touch them.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 1 June 2026
Verb
Kicker Andy Borregales made all six field goal attempts in an early period with a long of 48 yards.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 9 June 2026
And even as the prince attempts to reconcile with his father, there’s still a big distance between him and his brother William.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 9 June 2026
The Bee-Nav system attempts to replicate that strategy.
—New Atlas, 8 June 2026
Lucy attempts to dress in a wig and soldier’s attire and then cover herself in pancake powder from head to toe in an attempt to pose in place of the statue long enough to get through the dedication ceremony, but is exposed.
—Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
At the sheriff's station, Wade attempts to justify the shooting.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
Vampyr focuses on a young man and occultist (Nicolas de Gunzburg) who attempts to free a French village from the curse of a bloodthirsty fiend.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
The Spurs got off just three field goal attempts while succumbing to the Knicks’ defensive pressure.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 4 June 2026
Guinevere, just like Natalie from All My Children, has an evil sister who attempts to step into her life and seduce her husband.
—Literary Hub, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attempts
Noun
-
Freese will need to organize a back line that has failed to keep a shutout in eight tries dating back to last September.—
Julian Cardillo,
Boston Herald,
9 June 2026
-
Levi scored two tries to extend her season-leading tally to 64, and was even more impressive with two try-saving tackles from behind on Katelyn Vaha'akolo.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
And, in any case, many legal experts say the boat attacks amount to extrajudicial killings in violation of international law.—
Will Weissert,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
-
Sam Abu Haikal is the 13th child to be killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank so far this year, according to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, which has documented the killing of 236 children in the region by Israeli forces since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.—
Jeremy Diamond,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
Rahma strives for a cinema-verité aesthetic, with footage sometimes shot on vintage digital cameras, but the show’s style can’t overcome the limits of its format.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
-
That's in stark contrast to the graying parishioners at most Spanish churches at a moment the Catholic Church strives to engage with and remain relevant to youth.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 June 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
-
The attack comes as the NYPD investigates a troubling string of chilling assaults against older New Yorkers.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2026
-
During the more than two-year span when the alleged crimes took place, Feigenbaum said that the only person who knew the full extent of what happened was Campbell, with several of the victims only finding out about the assaults after the defendant was arrested.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The keyboard on the TravelMate P6 was perfectly satisfactory in my brief stabs at typing.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
29 May 2026
-
That definitely took a lot of stabs.—
Mya Abraham,
VIBE.com,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Barreto noted that Pratt didn’t take a strong stand against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, hurting his appeal to Latinos.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
-
Demonstrators in Omaha after immigration raids in June 2025.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
By targeting logistics hubs and resource stockpiles, Ukraine is attacking the systems that sustain Russian offensives.—
Aidan Stretch,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
-
The twin offensives are targeting Hamas and Hezbollah respectively, though critics argue that the operations are motivated at least in part by domestic politics — Israel is due to hold elections by October — and are amplifying troubling humanitarian situations in Gaza and Lebanon.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Attempts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attempts. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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