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struggle

struggle

466 3.2
A hard effort to do or finish something difficult
  • noun
  • /ˈstrʌɡəl/
translation icon : lucha
  • Many activists have dedicated their lives to the struggle for equal rights.
  • daily struggle
  • financial struggles
  • struggle for life

But it was through the struggle that that was born.

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Examples

  • Before victory must come struggle.

  • Their struggle is our struggle and we shall overcome.

  • I know that from my struggle I found my strength.

  • When it's time to go back to school, the struggle is too real.

  • And so it's been a struggle in multiple ways since then.

  • But remember, without struggle, there is no progress.

  • Even today, the struggle to protect the books continues.

  • But it can be a struggle to see it in this light.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Learn this tonight, and remember it in the long struggle for survival that is ahead.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Sometimes, though, after many years of struggle, the contesting parties do tire and seek compromise.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

challenge
vsstruggle
3.1

A difficult task that tests a person's skill and will

is the effort to overcome difficulty rather than the task itself
battle
vsstruggle
805 3.3

A long hard struggle to overcome a problem

is less about energetic force and more about steady determined effort
endeavor
vsstruggle
  • US
171 4.1

A determined attempt to do something difficult

is the determined effort focused on overcoming difficulty rather than any attempt
uphill battle
vsstruggle
  • Informal
25 6.6

A difficult task that needs a lot of effort to succeed

is about determined effort but may be less extreme in difficulty
striving
vsstruggle
7 3.5

A strong effort to reach a goal

is a determined effort that can be a single act rather than ongoing
tough going
vsstruggle
  • Informal
4 5.3

A situation or task that is hard to do

is the active, determined effort to achieve or overcome difficulty
mountain to climb
vsstruggle
  • Informal
1 5.2

A very difficult task that you must overcome

is the determined effort concept focusing on the action rather than the task

Antonyms

304 1.0

A state of comfort and freedom from worry

77 4.2

Giving up after defeat, for example when an army stops fighting

Compounds

A conflict between rich owners and workers over money and power

A fight inside a person's mind about what they feel or believe

9.0

A very violent, uncontrolled fight like animals fighting

A close fight between people without weapons

A far-left Greek armed group formed in 1971 to oppose the military government and capitalism

A Palestinian political group formed in 1967 that carried out armed attacks against Israel

A Palestinian armed group that split from al-Fatah in 1967 and attacked Israel

struggle meal
  • Informal
8.1

A cheap, simple meal you eat when you have little money

A meeting where people talk about problems and criticize work to make it better

How Determined

battle
805 3.3
fight
431 2.5
struggle
466 3.2
effort
1.0
attempt
1.0

Surface Forms

struggle singular
struggles plural

Etymology

Struggle comes from old words like strug- that meant 'to twist' or 'make violent movements', so picture someone twisting and pushing to achieve something; that's why a struggle is a hard, determined effort.