strive
- 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
Synonyms for strive
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comExamples from the Web for striving
Contemporary Examples of striving
But they are striving “to shine bright like a diamond” and be happy, and we love them for it.
People with eating disorders can become competitive and perfectionistic, striving to be the “thinnest” in any group of sufferers.
Striving to be evocatively mysterious, Eyrie is in the end merely mystifying.
Braff is striving to convey a poignant blend of pathos and humor here, but his sort of striving is a form of cheating.
In its place came something which, striving to fuse Urdu and Telugu, seemed to devalue both.
Historical Examples of striving
Always, it was striving to reach her soul, to make her of its own.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Was there any meaning or purpose in life, any result of the striving?
The Man ShakespeareFrank Harris
In her mind now floated clearly the ideal toward which her husband was striving.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
"I have no right to ask you who he is," he muttered, striving to control himself.
Fair MargaretH. Rider Haggard
Your greatest error was in striving at first for such physical perfection.
The Monster MenEdgar Rice Burroughs
strive
- (may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to make a great and tenacious effortto strive to get promotion
- (intr) to fight; contend
Word Origin for strive
Word Origin and History for striving
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.