strive
- 01 C1 Advanced
to try very hard to do or get something.
to make great efforts to achieve or obtain something; to exert oneself vigorously.
Simple“We must strive for a better future for our children.”
In context“The organisation continues to strive for excellence in every aspect of its operations, despite the significant budgetary constraints it faces.”
UsageOften followed by the preposition 'for' or an infinitive with 'to'.
PitfallThey strive to success. They strive for success.Use 'strive for' followed by a noun, or 'strive to' followed by a verb.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
to compete with someone or struggle against something.
to struggle in opposition or to contend in rivalry.
Simple“The two athletes strove against each other for the gold medal.”
In context“In his poetry, he describes the human spirit as it strives against the inevitable passage of time and the fading of memory.”
UsageUsually takes the preposition 'with' or 'against'.
Teacher's tipThis sense is largely literary; in modern speech, 'compete' or 'struggle' is much more common.
“The emotional rhythms are irresistible: you strive for a thing, you get close to the thing, conditionally, you strive harder and you hopefully hit the jackpot.”
“Although many families strive to share these responsibilities , research has consistently found that mothers tend to shoulder a larger share of the work tied to their kids’ schooling.”
From Middle English striven (“to strive”), from Old French estriver (“to compete, quarrel”), from Frankish strīban (“to exert, make an effort”) from Proto-Germanic strībaną, or from Frankish stribēn (“to strive”) from Proto-Germanic stribāną. As this verb is conjugated as if it were a strong verb (like drive, ride, and write), it is possible this word may instead be inherited from an unattested Old English strīfan or strifian, which would itself also be inherited from Proto-Germanic *strībaną.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.