striving

[strahy-ving]

noun

1. the act or practice of trying hard to do, reach, or achieve something; vigorous effort.

   In the striving for a just and lasting peace, ten agreements have already been reached by national and rebel forces.

2. the act of fighting or struggling against someone or something; competition, opposition, or battle.

   The pursuit of justice itself, or the striving against injustice, is a path to piety in Judaism.

adjective

1. trying hard; making a vigorous effort to do, reach, or achieve something.

   America is the striving immigrant who starts a business or the mom who works two low-wage jobs to give her kids a better life.

2. fighting or struggling against each other.

   Atonement aims at the unification of striving factions by making amends for whatever caused the trouble.

Other Word Forms

• strivingly adverb
• unstriving adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of striving¹

First recorded in 1225–75; striv(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; striv(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

“It will be more subject to the whims or preferences of whoever is in power — and in a liberal democracy, that is what you are striving to fight against.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But for top players, striving for glory in football video games is far less lucrative than battling for big prize money in fantasy eSports titles such as "League of Legends" or "Dota 2".

Read more on Barron's

Hopeful striving is healthy in its own right.

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One is the Jewish son of an exterminator who rose to Harvard; the other the cerebral product of a striving Black middle class.

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It was a time he’d never imagined in two decades of striving.

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