as in tried
to make an effort to do
he had been in gymnastics for some time before he even considered essaying that move
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Recent Examples of essayed
There is a secondary love affair being essayed here beyond the one with Robert Smith, and Rodrigo did a fairly effective job in pre-release commentary of explaining how, thematically, this would be a two-part album.
—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
12 June 2026
After netting a Golden Globe nomination for her film debut in 1978's Corvette Summer, Annie Potts joined the cast of Ghostbusters, played the ultimate Cool Girl record store clerk in Pretty in Pink (1986), and essayed her most iconic role as barbed single-mother Mary Jo Shively on Designing Women.
—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
During the last 45 years or so, additional sketches for the finale have surfaced, and a number of musicologists and composers have essayed completions of the movement.
—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Jan. 2026
In the process, Tarr essayed an arresting tone poem about spiritual isolation that enraptured viewers.
—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
6 Jan. 2026
Chris Willman,
Variety,
12 June 2026
After netting a Golden Globe nomination for her film debut in 1978's Corvette Summer, Annie Potts joined the cast of Ghostbusters, played the ultimate Cool Girl record store clerk in Pretty in Pink (1986), and essayed her most iconic role as barbed single-mother Mary Jo Shively on Designing Women.
—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
During the last 45 years or so, additional sketches for the finale have surfaced, and a number of musicologists and composers have essayed completions of the movement.
—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Jan. 2026
In the process, Tarr essayed an arresting tone poem about spiritual isolation that enraptured viewers.
—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for essayed
Verb
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Days later, Kelce tried and failed to give her a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it at her Kansas City show, the first domino to fall in the couple’s fabled romance.
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Commissioner Lyle tried to delay the vote, but Commission President Dillon shot it down, saying the City-County Council was waiting on the proposal to be sent their way.
Verb
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According to authorities, store staff had been warned that the same suspects had allegedly attempted a similar scheme at a Costco location in Enfield, roughly a 30-minute drive north.
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The sheriff's office says that deputies and workers extricated the man and attempted life-saving measures, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cite this Entry
“Essayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/essayed. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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