struggled
v.v. to try very hard to do something that is difficult or causes problems. You use this when you are having a tough time reaching a goal.
v. to make forceful or strenuous efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition. Often implies a lack of success or a significant expenditure of energy against a resisting force.
He struggled to open the heavy door.
The small business struggled to stay open during the first year of the economic crisis.
While the protagonist eventually achieves his goals, he first struggled against the rigid social expectations of his era, highlighting the internal conflict between duty and personal ambition.
Intransitive when used alone; frequently followed by an infinitive ('struggled to do') or the preposition 'with' ('struggled with').
he struggled for finish the workhe struggled to finish the workWhen followed by another action, this verb requires the to-infinitive, not 'for' plus the base form.