Synonyms of striving

striving 1 of 2

noun

as in struggle

Related Words

• struggle
• attempt
• undertaking
• endeavor
• try
• bid
• offer
• throes
• pass
• go
• essay
• assay
• trial
• stab
• crack
• shot
• bash
• fling
• whack
• whirl
• trial and error

striving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of strive

1

as in struggling

to devote serious and sustained effort

not only must we strive for peace in time of war, we must strive mightily to maintain that peace

Synonyms & Similar Words

• struggling
• laboring
• working
• endeavoring
• trying
• toiling
• tugging
• hustling
• sweating
• plowing
• straining
• grubbing
• slaving
• digging (away)
• plodding
• humping
• slogging
• banging away
• drudging
• pegging (away)
• plugging
• travailing
• moiling
• fagging
• sweating blood
• applying (oneself)
• attacking
• exerting
• beavering (away)
• buckling (down)
• driving
• exercising
• hammering (away)
• scratching
• essaying
• pitching in
• digging in
• scrabbling
• overworking
• wading
• grinding (out)
• trudging
• eking out
• knuckling down
• overexerting
• putting out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaking
• slackening
• easing (up)
• resting
• idling
• shirking
• loafing
• letting up
• lounging
• hanging (around or out)
• chilling
• relaxing
• bumming
• playing
• dallying
• lazing
• basking
• unwinding
• hacking (around)
• slacking (off)
• hanging
• goofing (off)
• reposing
• lolling
• dabbling
• dillydallying
• trifling
• goldbricking
• footling
• doodling
• vegging out
• fooling around
• messing around
• hanging about
• goofing (around)
• puttering (around)
• monkeying (around)
• pottering (around)
• fribbling

2

as in trying

to make an effort to do

let us strive to make the most of this opportunity

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trying
• attempting
• seeking
• endeavoring
• struggling
• hoping
• shooting at
• assaying
• essaying
• working
• aiming
• toiling
• fighting
• having a go at
• aspiring
• trying one's hand (at)
• troubling
• undertaking
• straining
• assuming
• taking up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dropping
• giving up
• quitting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of striving

Noun

To conclude 39 days of human striving, the gate didn’t determine who the game belonged to. — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 20 July 2026

And the striving didn’t stay on the ballfield or in the ring. — Anthony Scaramucci, Fortune, 28 June 2026

Such foolhardy male striving, the movie suggests, is all too often destructive. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 May 2026

These towers trace a geography of 21st-century striving, stretching from East Asia to the Gulf and North America. — Karina Acharya, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Feb. 2026

Their presence is an expression of human striving, not political provocation. — Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026

And taken wholesale, both arguments could be enlisted to support more unhealthy striving, less peace on earth. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026

Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City yesterday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class. — Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2026

Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class. — Anthony Izaguirre, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026

Verb

Paradoxically, striving for evermore money and material goods as a means of improving wellbeing often undermines quality of life. — Janet Linly, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

But his appointment also lit a fire among a group of academics - and others - who believe Cambridge and other universities and public bodies are striving too hard to increase their diversity. — Rupert Neate, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026

The point, as Schleien sees it, is to defeat this government, not the people and the institutions that are striving for a democratic country. — Bernard Avishai, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026

Actuaries agree that pension systems should be striving for 100% funding. — Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026

Winner of The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Tikkun Olam Award recognizing films which emphasize the responsibility and capacity of individuals and collectives to embody change and justice in striving towards a better future. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026

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

Democrats have this one chance to repudiate the democratic socialists who are striving to define and control their party. — Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 20 July 2026