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Attempt vs Preliminary - What's the difference?

attempt | preliminary |

As nouns the difference between attempt and preliminary

is that attempt is the action of trying at something while preliminary is a preparation for a main matter; an introduction.

As a verb attempt

is to try.

As an adjective preliminary is

in preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.

attempt

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • To try.
    • I attempted to sing, but my throat was too hoarse.
    to attempt an escape from prison
  • * Longfellow
    • Something attempted , something done, / Has earned a night's repose.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Sarah Glaz
    • , title= Ode to Prime Numbers , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.}}
  • (obsolete) To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.
  • * Thackeray
    • It made the laughter of an afternoon / That Vivien should attempt the blameless king.
  • (archaic) To try to win, subdue, or overcome.
    • one who attempts the virtue of a woman
  • * Shakespeare
    • Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further: / Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute.
  • (archaic) To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force.
    • to attempt the enemy's camp
  • * Motley
    • without attempting his adversary's life

    Usage notes

    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See

    Synonyms

    * take a stab at, take a run at

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The action of trying at something.
  • * We made an attempt to cross the stream, but didn't manage.
  • * This poem is much better than the feeble attempt of mine.
  • * It was worth the attempt .
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03
    • , author=William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter , title=The British Longitude Act Reconsidered , volume=100, issue=2, page=87 , magazine= citation , passage=But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea}}
  • An assault or attack, especially an assassination attempt.
  • * 1584' ''No man can charge us of any '''attempt against the realm. (Allen's Defence Of English Catholics, cited after Edinburgh review 1883, p. 378)

    • Usage notes

    * Adjectives often applied to "attempt": first, failed, desperate, last, half-hearted, unsuccessful, serious, successful, feeble, new, honest, vain, sincere, ambitious, earnest, clumsy, direct, hard, brilliant, official, useless, clever, sophisticated, amateurish.

    Synonyms

    * effort * try

    Statistics

    *

    External links

    * * * English control verbs

    preliminary

    English

    (wikipedia preliminary)

    Alternative forms

    * (archaic)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • in preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory
    • These are just the preliminary results.
  • *
    • And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into 'Beasts of England' in tremendous unison.

    Antonyms

    * definitive, final

    Derived terms

    * preliminarily * preliminary results * preliminary considerations

    Noun

    (preliminaries)
  • A preparation for a main matter; an introduction
  • Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists
  • A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing