English noun: essay | |||
1. | essay (communication) an analytic or interpretive literary composition | ||
Broader (hypernym) | piece of writing, writing, written material | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | composition, disquisition, memoir, paper, report, thanatopsis, theme | ||
2. | essay (act) a tentative attempt | ||
Broader (hypernym) | attempt, effort, endeavor, endeavour, try | ||
English verb: essay | |||
1. | essay (social) make an effort or attempt | ||
Samples | He tried to shake off his fears. The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps. The police attempted to stop the thief. He sought to improve himself. She always seeks to do good in the world. | ||
Examples | They essay to move | ||
Synonyms | assay, attempt, seek, try | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | act, move | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | adventure, chance, endeavor, endeavour, fight, gamble, give it a try, give it a try, give it a whirl, grope, have a go, hazard, lay on the line, pick up the gauntlet, put on the line, risk, risk, run a risk, strive, struggle, take a chance, take a dare, take chances | ||
2. | essay (social) put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to | ||
Samples | This approach has been tried with good results. Test this recipe. | ||
Synonyms | examine, prove, test, try, try out | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | evaluate, judge, pass judgment | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | control, field-test, float, verify | ||