Attempt
[ə'tem(p)t] or [ə'tɛmpt]
Definition
(noun.) earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; 'made an effort to cover all the reading material'; 'wished him luck in his endeavor'; 'she gave it a good try'.
Edited by Bertram--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To make trial or experiment of; to try; to endeavor to do or perform (some action); to assay; as, to attempt to sing; to attempt a bold flight.
(v. t.) To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.
(v. t.) To try to win, subdue, or overcome; as, one who attempts the virtue of a woman.
(v. t.) To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force; as, to attempt the enemy's camp.
(v. i.) To make an attempt; -- with upon.
(n.) A essay, trial, or endeavor; an undertaking; an attack, or an effort to gain a point; esp. an unsuccessful, as contrasted with a successful, effort.
Typist: Pearl
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Try, assay, essay, make trial or experiment of.[2]. Undertake, go about, set about, take in hand, endeavor to accomplish.
v. n. Try, strive, endeavor, seek, aim, make an attempt, make essay, do one's best, do all that in one lies, strain every nerve, leave no stone unturned.
n. Effort, trial, essay, endeavor, experiment, undertaking, enterprise.
Checker: Sylvia
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See EFFORT]
SYN:Try, endeavor, strive, undertake, seek, essay, attack, violate, force
ANT:Disregard, abandon, pretermit, dismiss, neglect, shun, drop
Checked by Dick
Definition
v.t. to try or endeavour: to try to obtain: tempt entice: to make an effort or attack upon.—v.i. to make an attempt or trial.—n. a trial: endeavour or effort: a personal assault: (Milton) temptation: (law) any act which can fairly be described as one of a series which if uninterrupted and successful would constitute a crime.—n. Attemptabil′ity.—adj. Attempt′able that may be attempted.—n. Attempt′er (Milton) a tempter.
Typed by Doreen
Examples
- But this base attempt to injure Mr. Pickwick recoiled upon the head of its calumnious author. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- In the main, however, this work is an attempt to find a basis for ethics in natural p henomena. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- A cursory examination of the latter revealed no mortal injuries and after a brief rest he asserted that he felt fit to attempt the return voyage. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- It is at present a quite inexplicable story, and we give these preposterous facts with no attempt to rationalize them. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- So far as practice is concerned the attempt is an absurdity. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- I copied as quickly as I could, but at nine o'clock I had only done nine articles, and it seemed hopeless for me to attempt to catch my train. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- I made no attempt to disturb her. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Numerous attempts were consequently made to obtain a more sensitive material. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- If he attempts to run away from you, knock him down, or lock him up. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- The artist studies the progress of his own attempts to see what succeeds and what fails. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- While failure is sometimes the outcome of the water-finder’s attempts, success as often and, indeed, according to the testimony of Professor Barrett, more often crowns his efforts. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- But I regret to state that the fright I had given him proved too much for his best attempts at concealment. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Without any mention of the various attempts to produce such a device, let us, as briefly as possible, describe the means used in most watches of American manufacture. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Deliberate revolt or deliberate attempts to deceive others may result. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The tears did not glisten there, as they did in Leinster's; but they fell in torrents as he attempted to take leave of me. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- I attempted to gain time--nay, I did worse. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Every time I attempted to start, my new horse would commence to kick. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- If anyone says that I attempted to stop your marriage by any but honest means, that person, too, does not speak the truth. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Gigantic attempted Robbery. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- The Christians lost Jerusalem again in 1244; it was taken from them very easily by the Sultan of Egypt when they attempted an intrigue against him. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Something of the same kind was afterwards attempted in morals. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Here, again, he disarmed me by not attempting to defend himself. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I am attempting to suggest some of the essentials of a statesman's equipment for the work of a humanly centered politics. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- In attempting to prove that the soul has three separate faculties, Plato takes occasion to discuss what makes difference of faculties. Plato. The Republic.
- There's no use attempting the impossible. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- I think either of these methods is preferable to attempting to carry ensilage in baskets any distance. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Elizabeth made no answer; and without attempting to persuade her ladyship to return into the house, walked quietly into it herself. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- The army it had to fight was the protection to the capital of a people which was attempting to found a nation upon the territory of the United States. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
Editor: Rosalie