- present participle of essay.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Two other Scandinavian greats, Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann, couldn’t resist essaying a part that passionately called out to them.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
Here, Sinatra is clearly stretching the limits of what was possible for a popular singer—one can’t imagine any of his predecessors or contemporaries essaying a work as long and complex as this.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
The actress was a member of the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic from 1972-75, essaying Lady Macbeth in 1972.
From Salon • Sep. 10, 2020
Like all reflective objects though, the act of essaying has a twoness about it.
From Washington Post • May 11, 2020
The dinner was arranged partly as a farewell to me and partly in acknowledgment of the aid I had given to young American artists essaying an operatic career.
From The Mapleson Memoirs, vol I 1848-1888 by Mapleson, James H.