DEFINITIONS
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strife

[ strahyf ]
/ straɪf /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR strife ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

vigorous or bitter conflict, discord, or antagonism: to be at strife.
a quarrel, struggle, or clash: armed strife.
competition or rivalry: the strife of the marketplace.
Archaic. strenuous effort.

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Words related to strife

squabble, warfare, clash, discord, disunity, disagreement, fighting, dissension, quarrel, wrangle, friction, animosity, controversy, rivalry, conflict, dispute, wrangling, bickering, tackle, aim

Words nearby strife

stride piano, strident, stridor, stridulate, stridulous, strife, strigiform, strigil, strigose, strijdom, strikable

Origin of strife

1175–1225; Middle English strif < Old French estrif, akin to estriver to strive

OTHER WORDS FROM strife

strife·ful, adjectivestrife·less, adjectiveun·der·strife, noun

Definition for strives (2 of 2)

strive
[ strahyv ]
/ straɪv /

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

SYNONYMS FOR strive

1 See try.
2 toil.
3 struggle, fight.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR strive ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM strive

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

Examples from the Web for strives

British Dictionary definitions for strives (1 of 2)

strife
/ (straɪf) /

noun

angry or violent struggle; conflict
rivalry or contention, esp of a bitter kind
Australian and NZ trouble or discord of any kindto get into strife
archaic striving

Word Origin for strife

C13: from Old French estrif, probably from estriver to strive

British Dictionary definitions for strives (2 of 2)

strive
/ (straɪv) /

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 forms of strive

striver, 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