ATTEMPT
attack, attempt
(noun) the act of attacking; “attacks on women increased last year”; “they made an attempt on his life”
attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, try
(noun) earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; “made an effort to cover all the reading material”; “wished him luck in his endeavor”; “she gave it a good try”
undertake, set about, attempt
(verb) enter upon an activity or enterprise
try, seek, attempt, essay, assay
(verb) make an effort or attempt; “He tried to shake off his fears”; “The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps”; “The police attempted to stop the thief”; “He sought to improve himself”; “She always seeks to do good in the world”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
attempt (third-person singular simple present attempts, present participle attempting, simple past and past participle attempted)
To try.
(obsolete) To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.
(archaic) To try to win, subdue, or overcome.
(archaic) To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force.
Usage notes
• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See English catenative verbs
Synonyms
• take a stab at, take a run at
Noun
attempt (plural attempts)
The action of trying at something. [1530]
An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt. [1580]
Usage notes
• Adjectives often applied to "attempt": first, failed, desperate, last, half-hearted, unsuccessful, serious, successful, feeble, new, honest, vain, sincere, ambitious, earnest, clumsy, direct, hard, brilliant, official, useless, clever, sophisticated, amateurish.
Synonyms
• effort
• try
Source: Wiktionary
At*tempt", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attempted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Attempting.] Etym: [OF. atenter, also spelt atempter, F. attenter,
fr. L. attentare to attempt; ad + tentare, temptare, to touch, try,
v. intens. of tendere to stretch. See Tempt, and cf. Attend.]
1. To make trial or experiment of; to try; to endeavor to do or
perform (some action); to assay; as, to attempt to sing; to attempt a
bold flight.
Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night's repose.
Longfellow.
2. To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to
tempt. [Obs. or Archaic]
It made the laughter of an afternoon That Vivien should attempt the
blameless king. Thackeray.
3. To try to win, subdue, or overcome; as, one who attempts the
virtue of a woman.
Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further: Take some remembrance
of us, as a tribute. Shak.
4. To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by
force; as, to attempt the enemy's camp.
Without attempting his adversary's life. Motley.
Syn.
– See Try.
At*tempt", v. i.
Definition: To make an attempt; -- with upon. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
At*tempt", n.
Definition: A essay, trial, or endeavor; an undertaking; an attack, or an
effort to gain a point; esp. an unsuccessful, as contrasted with a
successful, effort.
By his blindness maimed for high attempts. Milton.
Attempt to commit a crime (Law), such an intentional preparatory act
as will apparently result, if not extrinsically hindered, in a crime
which it was designed to effect. Wharton.
Syn.
– Attempt, Endeavor, Effort, Exertion, Trial. These words agree in
the idea of calling forth our powers into action. Trial is the
generic term; it denotes a putting forth of one's powers with a view
to determine what they can accomplish; as, to make trial of one's
strength. An attempt is always directed to some definite and specific
object; as, "The attempt, and not the deed, confounds us." Shak. An
endeavor is a continued attempt; as, "His high endeavor and his glad
success." Cowper. Effort is a specific putting forth of strength in
order to carry out an attempt. Exertion is the putting forth or
active exercise of any faculty or power. "It admits of all degrees of
effort and even natural action without effort." C. J. Smith. See Try.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition