ESSAYED Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

essayed

verb

past tense of essay

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of essayed Larger collaboration, now being essayed by film industries as established as France and the Nordic States, is the bigger major way Africa’s film industries can also go. — John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Aug. 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

Paul Robinson appeared in court along with former Penn State students, where preliminary hearings took place ahead of a Centre County judge ruling that Robinson and five former students would have their cases tried in county court.

— Finch Walker, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
The patients had all previously tried other therapies with little to no success and had mutations in RAS proteins, which can drive tumor growth.

— Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of tried

Verb

They are not intended to represent normal use and should not be attempted or replicated.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
Robinson’s lawyers have attempted to undermine several of the exhibits offered by the prosecution, including questioning the accuracy of DNA and its ability to link suspects to crime weapons, which could be a key part of their argument in the trial.

— Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of attempted

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“Essayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/essayed. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of essayed

verb

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