striving

American  

[strahy-ving] / ˈstraɪ vɪŋ /

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.

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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

Derived Forms

• strivingly
  adverb
• unstriving
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of striving

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

Wood took his discipline seriously, striving for and achieving the sort of objectivity that became unfashionable in the academy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Stefana disagrees, he says children and young people are spending so much time and money striving towards a look, an aesthetic, that only exists in the digital world, not in reality.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

Tra Jones, general manager of the new amphitheater and a Long Beach native, said he’s striving to make it feel less stopgap and utilitarian than FivePoint.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

And that’s enough of a reason to keep on striving.

From Salon • May 29, 2026

Too much knowledge had hindered him; too many holy verses, too many sacrificial rites, too much mortification of the flesh, too much doing and striving.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse