Attempts

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /əˈtɛmpts/

Definitions

1. Instances where someone tries to achieve or accomplish a task or goal ; carries out an effort to complete or perform an action
2. Occasions involving trying to succeed in something ; tries with intentional effort to do or accomplish a specific thing
3. Efforts made to undertake or accomplish something ; makes a deliberate effort or tries to accomplish a task or goal

Etymology: "Attempts" is simply the plural of the noun "attempt," so its history is that of the single word. The verb reached English in the late 14th century as "attempten," borrowed through Old French "atempter" from Latin "attemptare," meaning "to try" or "to solicit." The Latin word combined "ad-" ("to") with "temptare," the source of "tempt," so at its root an attempt is a kind of pushing toward something. The noun appeared in the 1530s with the general sense of making an effort. A more violent sense arrived later: by 1580 it could mean an assault on someone's life, the assassination attempt, borrowed from French "attentat." English speakers still hear that darker shade in phrases about attempts on a person's life, though most uses today are the everyday sense of an effort at a goal.

Synonyms: efforts, tries, endeavors

Antonyms: failures, abandonments