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struggle

[struhg-uhl]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR struggle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), strug·gled, strug·gling.

verb (used with object), strug·gled, strug·gling.

to bring, put, etc., by struggling: She struggled the heavy box into a corner.
to make (one's way) with violent effort.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

cope, try, toil, tackle, seek, strive, contend, grapple, compete, plug, assay, offer, scratch, dig, slave, grind, strain, hassle, sweat, undertake

Origin of struggle

1350–1400; Middle English struglen, stroglen, frequentative v. (see -le) formed on a base of obscure origin
Related formsstrug·gler, nounstrug·gling·ly, adverbpre·strug·gle, noun, verb (used without object), pre·strug·gled, pre·strug·gling.un·strug·gling, adjective

Synonyms for struggle

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR struggle ON THESAURUS.COM
1. oppose, contest, fight, conflict. 7. endeavor, exertion. 8. encounter, skirmish. Struggle, brush, clash refer to a hostile meeting of opposing persons, parties, or forces. Struggle implies vigorous bodily effort or violent exertion: a hand-to-hand struggle. A brush is a brief, but smart, and often casual combat: a brush between patrols. Clash implies a direct and sharp collision between opposing parties, efforts, interests, etc.: a clash of opinions.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for struggling

Contemporary Examples of struggling

Historical Examples of struggling

  • “Vex not thyself,” said the old dame, as she saw him struggling with his sobs.

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • As long as you were poor and struggling, Marian was welcome to you.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • The Little Doctor was struggling with the lump in her throat that he should try to joke about it.

  • It was as if some mighty pent force were struggling for release.

    The Leopard Woman

    Stewart Edward White

  • There Bob enveloped him in his arms, struggling and kicking, and put him on the horse.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

British Dictionary definitions for struggling

struggle

verb

(intr; usually foll by for or against; may take an infinitive) to exert strength, energy, and force; work or striveto struggle to obtain freedom
(intr) to move about strenuously so as to escape from something confining
(intr) to contend, battle, or fight
(intr) to go or progress with difficulty

noun

a laboured or strenuous exertion or effort
a fight or battle
the act of struggling
the struggle Southern African the radical and armed opposition to apartheid, especially by the military wings of the ANC and the PAC
Derived Formsstruggler, nounstruggling, adjectivestrugglingly, adverb

Word Origin for struggle

C14: of obscure origin
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 struggling

struggle

v.

late 14c., probably a frequentative form, of uncertain origin. Skeat suggests Old Norse strugr "ill will;" others suggest a connection to Dutch struikelen, German straucheln "to stumble." Related: Struggled; struggling.

struggle

n.

1690s, from struggle (v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper