/ English Dictionary |
TRYING
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Extremely irritating to the nerves
Example:
a trying day at the office
Synonyms:
nerve-racking; nerve-wracking; stressful; trying
Classified under:
Similar:
disagreeable (not to your liking)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Example:
fell upon trying times
Classified under:
Similar:
difficult; hard (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb try
Context examples:
If for no other reason, it was no time, when one was protecting and trying to save a woman, to ask that woman for her love.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Well, my dear sir, knowing the vindictive character of his old associates, he was trying to hide his own identity from everybody as long as he could.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Infertility means not being able to become pregnant after a year of trying.
(Infertility, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
When trying to lose weight, you can still eat your favorite foods — as long as you pay attention to the total number of calories that you eat.
(Diets, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
"I think that when we have those kinds of options to look at, we should look at them without having to spend decades trying to figure out exactly how they work."
(Vitamin C Might Shorten Tuberculosis Treatment Time, Study Indicates, VOA/Steve Baragona)
And as he still bent down more and more while he was doing so, and trying to look straight into the eyes, his long hair fell down from his shoulders into the water.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
If you’ve been trying to help a parent, you will be able to do so in a way that pleases both you and your parent after Neptune goes direct on November 27.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
"He's trying to speak, I do believe," Beth announced.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
We want to know you, and I've been trying to do it this ever so long.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
You are trying to frighten me.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)