ATTEMPT Synonyms: 96 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the verb 'attempt' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of attempt are endeavor , essay , strive , and try . While all these words mean "to make an effort to accomplish an end," attempt stresses the initiation or beginning of an effort. // will attempt to photograph the rare bird

Q: When is it sensible to use 'endeavor' instead of 'attempt'?

The words endeavor and attempt can be used in similar contexts, but endeavor heightens the implications of exertion and difficulty. // endeavored to find crash survivors in the mountains

Q: When could 'essay' be used to replace 'attempt'?

While in some cases nearly identical to attempt , essay implies difficulty but also suggests tentative trying or experimenting. // will essay a dramatic role for the first time

Q: When might 'strive' be a better fit than 'attempt'?

The meanings of strive and attempt largely overlap; however, strive implies great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort. // continues to strive for peace

Q: How do 'try' and 'attempt' relate to one another?

Try is often close to attempt but may stress effort or experiment made in the hope of testing or proving something. // tried to determine which was the better procedure

attempt 1 of 2

noun

Definition of attempt

as in try

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

as in attack

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

attempt

2 of 2

verb

ə-ˈtem(p)t

as in to try

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

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb attempt differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of attempt are endeavor, essay, strive, and try. While all these words mean "to make an effort to accomplish an end," attempt stresses the initiation or beginning of an effort.

will attempt to photograph the rare bird

When is it sensible to use endeavor instead of attempt?

The words endeavor and attempt can be used in similar contexts, but endeavor heightens the implications of exertion and difficulty.

endeavored to find crash survivors in the mountains

When could essay be used to replace attempt?

While in some cases nearly identical to attempt, essay implies difficulty but also suggests tentative trying or experimenting.

will essay a dramatic role for the first time

When might strive be a better fit than attempt?

The meanings of strive and attempt largely overlap; however, strive implies great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort.

continues to strive for peace

How do try and attempt relate to one another?

Try is often close to attempt but may stress effort or experiment made in the hope of testing or proving something.

tried to determine which was the better procedure

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 attempt

Noun

By this reasoning, federal agencies must be allowed to complete rulemaking before judges intervene, and challenges to the order are portrayed as speculative attempts to stop reforms that could be crafted within constitutional limits. — Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 As the Middle East analysts Shira Efron and Danny Citrinowicz have argued in Foreign Affairs, the attempts by Syria’s new government to counter those operations could result in Israel and Syria becoming lasting adversaries. — Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026

Verb

Use quotes from multiple companies to attempt to secure a cheaper price from your top pick. — Cassie Hurwitz, Curbed, 25 Aug. 2026 To attempt to bring the same rigor of writing to video, even if that seems impossible. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for attempt

Recent Examples of Synonyms for attempt

Noun

By default, these devices mark the wearer not only as a geek, but as a try-hard and an egoist.

— Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
All that said, Vedder didn’t completely nail it on his first try.

— Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of try

Noun

Detectives charged him with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon for the vicious attack that killed his mother, 57-year-old Josefa Soto de Guzman, on Friday.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 26 Aug. 2026
Just like Ejva, who suddenly needs to learn how to protect the herd and make her family proud, even when a violent attack leaves her struggling.

— Marta Balaga, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of attack

Noun

Her body was discovered by children and had stab wounds, severe head injuries and injuries consistent with strangling.

— CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
Weighing cost and value The administration hasn't said how much the 18-month Bridge program could cost, but the nonpartisan health research group KFF took a stab.

— Sydney Lupkin, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of stab

Noun

He has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury, the department said.

— Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 27 Aug. 2026
Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the January 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of assault

Noun

Last month, burglars stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry from the museum of French luxury glassmaker Lalique in a daring early morning raid.

— CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
According to witnesses of the raid, local police and Canyon County sheriff’s deputies assisted ICE agents by zip-tying children and detaining people without asking about their immigration status.

— Rachel Spacek, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of raid

Noun

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued several states that have tried to treat prediction market sites as a form of gambling, a type of legal offensive the agency has never before embarked on.

— Bobby Allyn, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
More than four decades ago, after months of setbacks in the war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, thousands of young Iranian troops launched a surprise offensive that turned the tide.

— Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of offensive

Noun

Iran is expanding its defense capabilities, an Iranian army commander said Wednesday, after much of the country’s equipment was degraded by US-Israeli strikes in the early days of the war.

— Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Ukraine's access to Starlink is the main reason for the early successes of its middle-strike drone campaign, which caught Russian forces off guard and undermined their logistics lines earlier this year.

— ABC News, ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of strike

Browse Nearby Words

attars

attempt

attempted

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Attempt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attempt. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of attempt

noun

verb

Synonym Chooser

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on attempt

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

conscientious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes