strive

English

Etymology

From Middle English striven (“to strive”) from Old French estriver (“to compete, quarrel”) from Old French estrif (“quarrel, dispute”), alteration (influenced by Germanic forms related to Frankish *strīban (“to strive”), from Proto-Germanic *strībaną, *stribjaną, *stribōną, compare Middle Dutch streven (“to strive”), German streben (“to strive”)) of Old French estrit, from Frankish *strīd (“quarrel, dispute”) from Proto-Germanic *strīdō (“combat, strife”). Akin to Old High German strīt (“quarrel”) (German Streit), Old High German strītan (“to fight”), Old Norse stríð (“strife, contention”). More at stride.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈstɹaɪv/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪv

Verb

strive (third-person singular simple present strives, present participle striving, simple past strove or strived, past participle striven or strived)

  1. To try to achieve a result; to make strenuous effort; to try earnestly and persistently.
    He strove to excel.
    to strive for the truth
  2. To struggle in opposition; to be in contention or dispute; to contend; to contest.
    to strive against fate
    • (Can we date this quote by Denham?)
      Now private pity strove with public hate, / Reason with rage, and eloquence with fate.
  3. To vie; to compete as a rival.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
      [Not] that sweet grove / Of Daphne, by Orontes and the inspired / Castalian spring, might with this paradise / Of Eden strive.

Usage notes

Conjugation
conjugation of strive
infinitive strive
present participle striving
past participle striven
simple progressive perfect perfect progressive
present I strive we strive I am striving we are striving I have striven we have striven I have been striving we have been striving
you strive you strive you are striving you are striving you have striven you have striven you have been striving you have been striving
he strives they strive he is striving they are striving he has striven they have striven he has been striving they have been striving
past I strove we strove I was striving we were striving I had striven we had striven I had been striving we had been striving
you strove you strove you were striving you were striving you had striven you had striven you had been striving you had been striving
he strove they strove he was striving they were striving he had striven they had striven he had been striving they had been striving
future I will strive we will strive I will be striving we will be striving I will have striven we will have striven I will have been striving we will have been striving
you will strive you will strive you will be striving you will be striving you will have striven you will have striven you will have been striving you will have been striving
he will strive they will strive he will be striving they will be striving he will have striven they will have striven he will have been striving they will have been striving
conditional I would strive we would strive I would be striving we would be striving I would have striven we would have striven I would have been striving we would have been striving
you would strive you would strive you would be striving you would be striving you would have striven you would have striven you would have been striving you would have been striving
he would strive they would strive he would be striving they would be striving he would have striven they would have striven he would have been striving they would have been striving
imperative strive

Translations

Noun

strive (plural strives)

  1. (obsolete) An effort; a striving.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chapman to this entry?)
  2. (obsolete) strife; contention

Further reading
  • strive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • strive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams
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