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attempt Definition

at·tempt (ə tempt′)

transitive verb

  1. to make an effort to do, get, have, etc.; try; endeavor
  2. Archaic to tempt

Etymology: ME attempten < OFr attempter < L attemptare, to try, solicit < ad-, to + temptare, to try: see tempt

noun

  1. a try
  2. an attack, as on a person's life

attempt Related Forms

at·tempt′·able adjective

attempt Idioms

attempt the life of

to try to kill

attempt Synonyms

attempt

n.

trial, try, struggle, endeavor; see effort 1, 2.

attempt Synonyms

attempt

v.

try, endeavor, strive, venture; see try 1. See syn. study attry.

attempt Law Definition

n

The intentional and overt taking of a substantial step toward the commission of a crime that falls short of completing the crime. The mere planning of a crime, as well as soliciting another to commit the crime, does not constitute an attempt to commit the crime. Attempt is a crime distinct from the offense that the criminal was attempting to commit. Various legal tests are used to determine when, between planning a crime and committing it, a person’s actions constitute an attempt. See also conspiracy and solicitation.

attempt Usage Examples

Object

suicide: Children and teenagers who are prescribed antidepressant medicine may be at a higher risk of attempting suicide, a new study suggests.

Converse of object

  • resist: Resists all attempts to short circuit recitation of irrelevant facts.
  • fail: Many of them died in that failed attempt to save those trapped at the top.
  • abandon: I abandoned attempts to follow any description precisely and aimed for a beckoning crack above, which had featured somewhere in the description.

Preposition: at

suicide: Although, an attempt at suicide probably was letting them win too.

Adjective modifier

  • desperate: Several desperate attempts at repair eventually led to the whole thing being removed.
  • unsuccessful: It was an unsuccessful attempt to ensure that we all got today off.
  • failed: After the two failed attempts Sarah jumped in the pool and towed the girl to the side.
  • deliberate: Why was there a deliberate attempt to conceal this?
  • abortive: In the 1990s, on Gigante's initiative, an abortive attempt was made to reopen the old 18th-century excavations.
  • repeated: Despite repeated attempts to contact, photograph and interview the artist, he remained elusive.

Noun used with modifier

  • assassination: This latter assassination attempt is graphically described in Nancy, Lady Enniskillen's Florence Court, pp.
  • suicide: There have been numerous suicide attempts in the detention camp.
  • last-ditch: A sunset clause is a last-ditch attempt to put at least some protection or roadblock in place.
  • rescue: Two athletes were killed in the Olympic village, the other nine were massacred in a botched rescue attempt by the West German police.
  • intrusion: Firewalls stop intrusion attempts and prevent many threats getting through.
  • escape: The escape attempt Vera is expecting fails to take place.

Infinitive complement

  • explain: What are the principal attempts to explain the drama?
  • resolve: Combat The first step for attempting to resolve combat will be mediation.
  • persuade: Together they attempted to persuade the Labor Party to adopt the policy of government funded welfare centers to provide free birth-control advice.