Definitions for Struggle
ˈstrʌg əlstrug·gle

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 2 votes

1. struggle, battlenoun

   an energetic attempt to achieve something

   "getting through the crowd was a real struggle"; "he fought a battle for recognition"

2. conflict, struggle, battlenoun

   an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

   "the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"--Thomas Paine; "police tried to control the battle between the pro- and anti-abortion mobs"

3. struggleverb

   strenuous effort

   "the struggle to get through the crowd exhausted her"

4. fight, struggleverb

   make a strenuous or labored effort

   "She struggled for years to survive without welfare"; "He fought for breath"

5. struggleverb

   to exert strenuous effort against opposition

   "he struggled to get free from the rope"

6. clamber, scramble, shin, shinny, skin, struggle, sputterverb

   climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling

7. contend, fight, struggleverb

   be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight

   "the tribesmen fought each other"; "Siblings are always fighting"; "Militant groups are contending for control of the country"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. strugglenoun

   strife, contention, great effort

2. struggleverb

   to strive, to labour in difficulty, to fight (for or against), to contend.

   During the centuries, the people of Ireland struggled constantly to assert their right to govern themselves.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Strugglenoun

   Etymology: from the verb.

   1. Labour; effort.2. Contest; contention.

   When, in the division of parties, men only strove for the first place in the prince’s favour, an honest man might look upon the struggle with indifference. Addison.

   It began and ended without any of those unnatural struggles for the chair, which have disturbed the peace of this great city. Francis Atterbury.

   3. Agony; tumultuous distress.

2. To Struggleverb

   Etymology: Of uncertain etymology.

   1. To labour; to act with effort.2. To strive; to contend; to contest.

   No man is guilty of an act of intemperance but he might have forborn it; not without some trouble from the strugglings of the contrary habit, but still the thing was possible. South.

   In the time of Henry VIII. differences of religion tore the nation into two mighty factions, and, under the name of Papist and Protestant, struggled in her bowels with many various events. William Temple.

   I repent, like some despairing wretch,
   That boldly plunges in the frightful deep,
   Then pants, and struggles with the whirling waves;
   And catches every slender reed to save him. Smith.

   3. To labour in difficulties; to be in agonies or distress.

   Strong virtue, like strong nature, struggles still,
   Exerts itself, and then throws off the ill. Dryden.

   ’Tis wisdom to beware
   And better shun the bait, than struggle in the snare. Dryden.

   If men struggle through as many troubles to be miserable as to be happy; my readers may be persuaded to be good. Spect.

   He struggling groans beneath the cruel hands
   Even of the clowns he feeds. James Thomson.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Struggleverb

   to strive, or to make efforts, with a twisting, or with contortions of the body

2. Struggleverb

   to use great efforts; to labor hard; to strive; to contend forcibly; as, to struggle to save one's life; to struggle with the waves; to struggle with adversity

3. Struggleverb

   to labor in pain or anguish; to be in agony; to labor in any kind of difficulty or distress

4. Strugglenoun

   a violent effort or efforts with contortions of the body; agony; distress

5. Strugglenoun

   great labor; forcible effort to obtain an object, or to avert an evil

6. Strugglenoun

   contest; contention; strife

FreebaseRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Struggle

   Struggle is the first album released by the four-piece alternative metal music group, Nonpoint. It was released through the now defunct independent label, Jugular Records. Several of the songs were later re-used on the band's next album, Statement. The album was reissued under the title Separate Yourself: The Beginning 1997-1998 and is still available for purchase either at concerts or via the band's website.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Struggle

   strug′l, v.i. to make great efforts with contortions of the body: to make great exertions: to contend: to labour in pain: to be in agony or distress.—n. a violent effort with contortions of the body: great labour: agony.—n. Strugg′ler, one who struggles, strives, or contends. [Skeat explains M. E. strogelen as a weakened form of an assumed strokelen, a freq. verb, from Ice. strok-, stem of strokinn, pa.p. of strjúka, to strike; cf. Ice. strokka, to churn, also Sw. stryka, to strike.]

Matched Categories

1. • Strive
   • Try

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Struggle' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2711

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Struggle' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4009

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Struggle' in Nouns Frequency: #1040

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Struggle' in Verbs Frequency: #496

How to pronounce Struggle?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Struggle in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Struggle in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Struggle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of Struggle in a Sentence

1. Lou Dorfsman:

   Creativity is essentially a lonely art. An even lonelier struggle. To some a blessing. To others a curse. It is in reality the ability to reach inside yourself and drag forth from your very soul an idea.

2. Prime Minister David Cameron:

   I am determined to prioritize the resources we need to combat the terrorist threat because protecting the British people is my number one duty, this is a generational struggle that demands we provide more manpower to combat those who would destroy us and our values.

3. Evo Morales:

   Our fight is for there to never again be an American base in Bolivia, the United States was the owner of Bolivia. Our struggle has always been to recover our homeland and dignity.

4. The Los Angeles Times:

   After that the struggle continued and an officer involved shooting occurred.

5. John Cornyn:

   I read just a summary of it, and I frankly struggle to understand the legal theory, number 1, why would a state -- even such a great state as Texas -- have a say-so on how other states administer their elections ?

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