struggle - Definition | Dictionary definition of struggle

Definition of struggle

Verbs

make a strenuous or labored effort

"She struggled for years to survive without welfare"

Synonyms:: fight

Types:: drive, labor, labour, push, tug
strive and make an effort to reach a goal; reach, strain, strive
to exert much effort or energy; flounder
behave awkwardly; have difficulties

Type of:: assay, attempt, essay, seek, try
make an effort or attempt

to exert strenuous effort against opposition

"he struggled to get free from the rope"

Type of:: endeavor, endeavour, strive
attempt by employing effort

climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling

Synonyms:: clamber, scramble, shin, shinny, skin, sputter

Type of:: climb
move with difficulty, by grasping

be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight

Synonyms:: contend, fight

Types:: show 52 types...; hide 52 types...; bear down
exert full strength; fistfight
fight with the fists; join battle
engage in a conflict; tug
struggle in opposition; defend, fight, fight back, fight down, oppose
fight against or resist strongly; recalcitrate
show strong objection or repugnance; manifest vigorous opposition or resistance; be obstinately disobedient; fend, resist, stand
withstand the force of something; hold out, resist, stand firm, withstand
stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something; drive back, fight off, rebuff, repel, repulse
force or drive back; get back, settle
get one's revenge for a wrong or an injury; fight back
defend oneself; battle, combat
battle or contend against in or as if in a battle; dogfight
engage in an aerial battle with another fighter plane; wrestle
combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force; war
make or wage war; blitzkrieg
fight a quick and surprising war; go to war, take arms, take up arms
commence hostilities; assail, attack
launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; submarine
attack by submarine; pelt, pepper
attack and bombard with or as if with missiles; hit, strike
make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target; counterattack, counterstrike
make a counterattack; gas
attack with gas; subject to gas fumes; storm, surprise
attack by storm; attack suddenly; blitz
attack suddenly and without warning; invade, occupy
march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation; beleaguer, besiege, circumvent, hem in, surround
surround so as to force to give up; bomb, bombard
throw bombs at or attack with bombs; strafe
attack with machine guns or cannon fire from a low-flying plane; cannonade
attack with cannons or artillery; torpedo
attack or hit with torpedoes; bust, raid
search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on; duel
fight a duel, as over one's honor or a woman; joust
joust against somebody in a tournament by fighting on horseback; tilt
charge with a tilt; chicken-fight, chickenfight
fight while sitting on somebody's shoulders; tourney
engage in a tourney; feud
carry out a feud; skirmish
engage in a skirmish; bandy
exchange blows; fence
fight with fencing swords; block, deflect, parry
impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball); box
engage in a boxing match; spar
box lightly; prizefight
box for a prize or money; shadowbox
go through boxing motions without an opponent; spar
fight with spurs; scuffle, tussle
fight or struggle in a confused way at close quarters; wrestle
engage in a wrestling match; mud-wrestle, mudwrestle
wrestle in mud; engage, wage
carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns); offer, provide, put up
mount or put up

Nouns

an energetic attempt to achieve something

"getting through the crowd was a real struggle"

Synonyms:: battle

Types:: duel
any struggle between two skillful opponents (individuals or groups); scramble, scuffle
an unceremonious and disorganized struggle; joust, tilt
a combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances

Type of:: attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, try
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

Synonyms:: battle, conflict

Examples:: Peasant's Revolt
a widespread rebellion in 1381 against poll taxes and other inequities that oppressed the poorer people of England; suppressed by Richard II; Indian Mutiny
discontent with British administration in India led to numerous mutinies in 1857 and 1858; the revolt was put down after several battles and sieges (notably the siege at Lucknow)

Types:: show 35 types...; hide 35 types...; class struggle, class war, class warfare
conflict between social or economic classes (especially between the capitalist and proletariat classes); insurrection, rebellion, revolt, rising, uprising
organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another; insurgence, insurgency
an organized rebellion aimed at overthrowing a constituted government through the use of subversion and armed conflict; intifada, intifadah
an uprising by Palestinian Arabs (in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank) against Israel in the late 1980s and again in 2000; mutiny
open rebellion against constituted authority (especially by seamen or soldiers against their officers); counterinsurgency, pacification
actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency; strife
bitter conflict; heated often violent dissension; countercurrent, crosscurrent
actions counter to the main group activity; discord, discordance
strife resulting from a lack of agreement; tug-of-war
any hard struggle between equally matched groups; turf war
a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights; combat, fight, fighting, scrap
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle; gunfight, gunplay, shootout
a fight involving shooting small arms with the intent to kill or frighten; brush, clash, encounter, skirmish
a minor short-term fight; close-quarter fighting
hand-to-hand fighting at close quarters; dogfight
a violent fight between dogs (sometimes organized illegally for entertainment and gambling); fencing
the art or sport of fighting with swords (especially the use of foils or epees or sabres to score points under a set of rules); in-fighting
conflict between members of the same organization (usually concealed from outsiders); set-to
a brief but vigorous fight; impact, shock
the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat; dogfight, hassle, rough-and-tumble, scuffle, tussle
disorderly fighting; affaire d'honneur, duel
a prearranged fight with deadly weapons by two people (accompanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor; fistfight, fisticuffs, slugfest
a fight with bare fists; banging, battering
the act of subjecting to strong attack; beating, whipping
the act of overcoming or outdoing; affray, disturbance, fray, ruffle
a noisy fight; brawl, free-for-all
a noisy fight in a crowd; cut-and-thrust, knife fight, snickersnee
fighting with knives; gang fight, rumble
a fight between rival gangs of adolescents; single combat
a fight between two people; feud
a bitter quarrel between two parties; blood feud, vendetta
a feud in which members of the opposing parties murder each other; war, warfare
an active struggle between competing entities; drug war
conflict between law enforcement and those who deal in illegal drugs; trench warfare
a struggle (usually prolonged) between competing entities in which neither side is able to win