strive

[strahyv]

verb (used without object), strove or strived, striv·en [striv-uh n] /ˈstrɪv ən/ or strived, striv·ing.

to exert oneself vigorously; try hard: He strove to make himself understood.

to make strenuous efforts toward any goal: to strive for success.

to contend in opposition, battle, or any conflict; compete.

to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance: to strive against fate.

to rival; vie.

Origin of strive

1175–1225; Middle English striven < Old French estriver to quarrel, compete, strive < Germanic; compare obsolete Dutch strijven, German streben to strive

Related formsstriv·er, nounstriv·ing·ly, adverbin·ter·strive, verb (used without object), in·ter·strove, in·ter·striv·en, in·ter·striv·ing.out·strive, verb (used with object), out·strove, out·striv·en, out·striv·ing.o·ver·strive, verb (used without object), o·ver·strove, o·ver·striv·en, o·ver·striv·ing.re·strive, verb (used without object), re·strove, re·striv·en, re·striv·ing.un·striv·ing, adjective

Synonyms for strive

1. See try. 2. toil. 3. struggle, fight.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for strivers

contestant, applicant, candidate, competitor, hopeful, wannabe, postulant, striver

Examples from the Web for strivers

Contemporary Examples of strivers

This faux doctrine divides America into the “makers” and the “takers,” the “strivers” and the “moochers.”
Mitt Romney’s 47 Percent Not Who GOP Wants You to Think They Are
James Braxton Peterson
September 27, 2012
Cameron and Osborne would, naturally, also claim to be on the side of the strivers.
What Romney Should Learn From John Major
Justin Green
August 13, 2012
But our common New Testament heritage calls upon us to be peacemakers and strivers for justice.
Christian Zionism's Own Reality Check
Matt Duss
July 12, 2012
It is an enduring political irony that, despite being a nation of strivers, Americans find naked ambition distasteful.
Rick Perry’s Divine Calling
Michelle Cottle
July 21, 2011
They have an irrefutable profile as strivers and self-starters.
Nikki Haley and the New Racial Face of the South
Tunku Varadarajan
June 9, 2010

Historical Examples of strivers

Are they not strivers for mastery in the greatest of combats?
Laws
Plato
Let their thank be such as may encourage no strivers for the like.
Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth
Lucy Aikin
Anyhow, the parity of the two strivers was now somewhat re-established.
Seven Men
Max Beerbohm
Thine the generations of might,—the strivers, the battlers,—the men who make Nature tame!
Two Years in the French West Indies
Lafcadio Hearn
And will you still doubt whether God is able to make you “strivers with God,” princes who prevail with Him?
The Ministry of Intercession
Andrew Murray

British Dictionary definitions for strivers

strive

verb strives, striving, strove or striven (ˈstrɪvən)

(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make a great and tenacious effortto strive to get promotion

(intr) to fight; contend

Derived Formsstriver, noun

Word Origin for strive

C13: from Old French estriver, of Germanic origin; related to Middle High German streben to strive, Old Norse strītha to fight

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for strivers

strive

c.1200, from Old French estriver "to quarrel, dispute," from estrif, estrit "quarrel" (see strife). It became a strong verb (past tense strove) by rhyming association with drive, etc.