essaying

verb

present participle of essay
as in trying
to make an effort to do he had been in gymnastics for some time before he even considered essaying that move

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of essaying The four-man group plays and sings with equal verve whether essaying its own engaging songs or classics by Bill Monroe, The Carter Family and The Stanley Brothers. — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for essaying
  1. trying
  2. attempting
  3. striving
Verb
  • February 19 – March 20 That impulse buy may be trying to solve a feeling.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Her doctor advised her to stop clinical hyperpigmentation treatments for her dark spots and uneven skin tone as some ingredients could be unsafe to use while trying to conceive or during pregnancy.
    — Kati Chitrakorn, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of trying
Verb
  • Having already served a yearlong jail sentence for an Orinda bank robbery in 2018, Luchin was indicted last year on charges of attempting to rob three San Francisco banks in the same day.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Instead of attempting an abundance of field goals, Butker and the place-kicking unit ran onto the field every 20 minutes or so for an attempt.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of attempting
Verb
  • Arnetra and her sister, Akiva, described Darius as a joker, always striving to bring joy to those around him.
    — Maveah Griffith, Charlotte Observer, 31 July 2026
  • Bevacqua has recategorized Notre Dame’s programs between those striving for championships and those trying to be maintained.
    — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 28 July 2026
Definition of striving

Browse Nearby Words

essayed
essaying
essayist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Essaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/essaying. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on essaying

Nglish: Translation of essaying for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All