Skip to main content
trying

trying

34 5.1
Hard to deal with and making people feel tired or annoyed
  • adjective
  • /ˈtraɪɪŋ/
: difícil
  • As you know, it's been a very long and a very trying day for us all.
  • very trying

This is times when it was really trying on me or testing me.

Examples

  • After a week of trying work schedules, she finally managed to find a balance.

  • It was a very trying year, ladies.

  • This is beautiful, but this is trying so hard.

  • This is times when it was really trying on me or testing me.

  • It's a cream, OK, Trying not to do too much.

  • It had been a very trying day for international cooperation.

    Academic text (2004)
  • It's a laptop that's not trying to not be a laptop.

  • Additionally, while these meetings help individuals understand the disease of drug and alcohol addiction to help and support someone they care about, they also assist friends and family with their own emotional support during what is most often an incredibly trying and stressful time.

    Blog text (11)
  • As this can be a very trying and traumatic time for children, this book helps point out that Grandma isn't gone forever, she's just sort of relocated without her body.

  • It has been a very trying period for everyone involved due to the ongoing challenges.

Synonyms

hard
vstrying
∞ 1.1

Needing a lot of effort and often strict or severe

also emphasizes being annoying or difficult to endure, not just severe tasks
difficult
vstrying
∞ 1.6

Not easy to do or understand

adds the idea of causing irritation or strain to that same effort
tough
vstrying
∞ 2.6

Hard to do or understand and needing a lot of effort

adds a sense of irritation and strain beyond mere difficulty
tricky
vstrying
283 3.9

Difficult to do because it has hidden problems

emphasizes enduring annoyance or strain instead of subtle or hidden difficulty
frustrating
vstrying
258 3.0

Making you feel annoyed or disappointed because it stops you getting what you want

describes general difficulty and irritation rather than only blocked progress
stressful
vstrying
156 2.8

Making you feel very worried or nervous

tends to highlight irritation and hard endurance rather than only pressure
demanding
vstrying
104 4.1

Needing a lot of time, effort, or attention

adds a sense of irritation and endurance beyond mere requirements
irritating
vstrying
68 2.9

Making someone feel annoyed or impatient

tends to stress strain and enduring difficulty rather than slight annoyance
troublesome
vstrying
45 3.9

Causing worry or annoyance and hard to deal with

emphasizes personal strain and endurance more than external worry
arduous
vstrying
29 7.7

Very difficult to do and needing a lot of effort over a long time

is more about immediate irritation and strain rather than long slow toil
maddening
vstrying
23 5.3

Very annoying and hard to bear

is less extreme suggesting difficulty or irritation without strong fury
nerve-racking
vstrying
  • Informal
21 5.0

Makes you feel very worried and tense

leans more toward irritation and difficulty to bear than focused anxiety
nerve-wracking
vstrying
  • Informal
16 6.1

Causes a lot of worry and stress

is closer to general annoyance and endurance rather than intense distress
tough going
vstrying
  • Informal
7 5.3

A situation or task that is hard to do

focuses more on personal irritation and endurance than situational difficulty
exasperating
vstrying
6 6.1

Making you feel very annoyed and frustrated

is more general meaning hard to endure or causing strain instead
irksome
vstrying
6 7.4

Making you feel annoyed or bored

is more about hard endurance and strain rather than mere tedium
straining
vstrying
3 5.0

Needing a lot of effort and making you very tired

is more about being annoying or hard to endure than pure exertion
effortful
vstrying
1 6.9

Needing a lot of physical or mental work

stresses irritation and strain more than simple physical or mental effort

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Not hard to do, understand, or achieve

323 1.0

Giving a gentle feeling of enjoyment

Compounds

1 1.6

Putting on clothes to see if they fit or suit you

How Difficult

unbearable
84 3.9
exhausting
90 3.2
taxing
13 6.8
trying
34 5.1
troublesome
45 3.9
annoying
415 1.0
bothersome
13 3.5

Surface Forms

trying positive

Morphology

trying = try (transparent) = try + ing

Adjectival use of the present-participle formed from 'try' + -ing; the meaning 'causing strain or difficulty' is a regular participial interpretation of the verb.

Etymology

Trying comes from the verb try, which long ago meant 'to test' and is the same root as trial. So a 'trying' time is like a test of your patience, meaning something difficult or annoying.