attempt

noun

The action of trying at something.

An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt.

(criminal law) A substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).

An act of trying to commit suicide

verb

To try.

(criminal law) To make a substantial but unsuccessful effort (to commit a crime).

(archaic) To try to win, subdue, or overcome.

(archaic) To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force.

(obsolete) To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.

Roots

tempto-tempt · Latin · test, try

Synonyms for attempt

tryv effortn endeavorn seekv strivingn undertakev attackn experimentn assayn bidn

Synonyms & related words for attempt

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of attempt — including try, effort, endeavor, seek, striving, undertake. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to attempt

Explore words related to attempt — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include attemptable, reattempt, unattempted, essaying, failed, unsuccessfully, unsuccessful, strove. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for attempt

Common synonyms for attempt include try, effort, endeavor, seek, striving, undertake, attack, experiment — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does attempt come from?

The word attempt breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -tempt, from Latin tempto (“test, try”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.