essays 1 of 2

noun

plural of essay
1
as in articles
a short piece of writing typically expressing a point of view school essays on what it means to be a patriot

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2
as in attempts
an effort to do or accomplish something my first essay at baking a cake did not go well

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3
as in tests
a procedure or operation carried out to resolve an uncertainty a little homemade essay to determine the easiest way to strip the paint from the bookcase

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essays

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of essay
as in tries
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 essays
Noun
This collection of personal essays was developed in collaboration with the Global Health Reporting Center, with support from the Pulitzer Center. — Caleb Hellerman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026 College administrators read an adjunct professor’s comments to students on personal essays. — Cathy Bussewitz, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 Two essays that open the new issue of Foreign Affairs offer different answers to that question. — Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 20 Aug. 2026 Students across the country are using AI models to complete assignments and write entire essays. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 19 Aug. 2026 In addition to the biographies, Marsh collected his reviews and essays in a number of volumes, including Fortunate Son and Kick Out the Jams. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026 Rather than translating existing work from The Rumpus, El Alboroto will commission and publish original Spanish-language writing spanning cultural criticism, personal essays, interviews, fiction, poetry and comics. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026 Click here for the full schedule of essays, lists, and in-depth interviews. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026 The essays have received more than 1 million cumulative views on Substack and her podcast of the same name registered 160,000 audio downloads and nearly 64,000 YouTube views at last count. — Calvin Woodward, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Verb
In the film, Bajpayee plays the police officer while Jim Sarbh essays the role of the killer who goes by the fictional name Carl Bhojraj. — Sweta Kaushal, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for essays
  1. articles
  2. attempts
  3. tests
  4. tries
  5. goes
  6. experiments
  7. strives
  8. endeavors
Noun
  • Pentagon staff said there are stacks of newspapers in the building that seem to go untouched, and the newspaper was known for having articles service members could access online from other outlets.
    — Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Reporters from Noozhawk and KEYT were among those detained, and both outlets published articles detailing the detainment.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of articles
Noun
  • Trump has publicly stepped back from efforts to make diplomatic progress with Iran, facing deadlocked attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and intensifying questions about the toll an unpopular war has taken on the US military.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Deebo Samuel, not Cowing, was the team’s punt returner to open the game, and Cowing misjudged one of his early attempts, allowing the ball to bounce in front of him.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of attempts
Noun
  • Schanuel tweaked his side on Thursday night, and Meckler was still undergoing concussion tests after he was hit in the head by a pitch.
    — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Someone with gestational hypertension will need more frequent monitoring, which may include home blood pressure measurements, blood and urine tests, and additional monitoring of fetal growth and well-being.
    — Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of tests
Verb
  • The family tries to turn their surroundings into learning opportunities as well.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 23 Aug. 2026
  • There’s been a big emphasis on pressing as a unit and moving the ball quickly as Iraola tries to install the kind of bold, attacking football which put him at the front of the queue when Liverpool looked for Slot’s successor.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of tries
Noun
  • The first phase of the railway that the Colorado Connector (CoCo) will make trips on goes from Denver up to Boulder, on to Fort Collins.
    — Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 14 July 2026
  • Does this mean those pop-goes-punk comp albums are coming back?
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Definition of goes
Noun
  • After more than a decade of experiments, regulatory hurdles and technical setbacks, some of America’s biggest delivery companies are now making much bigger bets that drones are finally ready for prime time.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • International graduate students also frequently teach undergraduate courses, conduct experiments and staff research laboratories.
    — Abigail Boggs, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of experiments
Verb
  • Chesney called Martin an unbelievable leader and said that his energy will give people a window into what his program strives to look like.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Thuso Mbedu stars as Zélie, who strives to bring back magic to her kingdom.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of strives
Noun
  • The credits amounted to roughly $405,300 for an array of endeavors to remediate deficiencies on the property.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But according to Paul Ballew, NFL senior VP of data and analytics, the league still isn’t fully satisfied with Nielsen’s behind-the-scenes endeavors.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of endeavors

Browse Nearby Words

essayists
essays
essence
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Cite this Entry

“Essays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/essays. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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