tryhard

American  

[trahy-hahrd] / ˈtraɪˌhɑrd /

Or try-hard

noun

1. an underskilled or untalented participant attempting to compensate with sheer effort in order to succeed.

   We annihilated a whole team of tryhards in their first multiplayer match.

2. a person who participates in a game or other activity with too much enthusiasm, emotion, effort, or commitment.

   These tryhards need to take a moment, take a breath, and chill out.

3. someone creating a false image to appear more attractive or appealing; a phony; a poser.

   He’s just a tryhard who thought buying a convertible would help him pick up girls.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make an obvious effort to excel, but achieve only moderate success, especially when measured against ambitious goals: The men’s national team tryharded during the qualifiers, but it wasn’t enough to send them to the World Cup.

   New tech companies are tryharding with this next generation of smartphones.

   The men’s national team tryharded during the qualifiers, but it wasn’t enough to send them to the World Cup.

Etymology

Origin of tryhard

First recorded in 1980–85; try ( def. ) + hard ( def. )

Example Sentences

But Deadpool is and always has been a faux-naughty edgelord and tryhard.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2024

Except the Vampire Diaries was better than all of them, certainly superior to the gratuitous, tryhard True Blood and second only to Buffy in the all-time pecking order.

From The Guardian • Mar. 11, 2017

But their skills were still incapable of obscuring the reality: they looked as silly as they did greasy as they did tryhard, and neither got the girl.

From The Guardian • Jul. 25, 2014

Having us turning up playing in a working men's club would have been a bit tryhard.

From The Guardian • Aug. 24, 2012