Attempt vs Purpose - What's the difference?
attempt | purpose |
To try.
* Longfellow
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= (obsolete) To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt.
* Thackeray
(archaic) To try to win, subdue, or overcome.
* Shakespeare
(archaic) To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force.
* Motley
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=
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)
An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=
, volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= A result that is desired; an intention.
The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
* 2013 , Phil McNulty, "[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23830980]", BBC Sport , 1 September 2013:
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
(obsolete) Instance; example.
Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
* Macaulay
(passive ) Designed for some purpose.
(obsolete) To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
In obsolete terms the difference between attempt and purpose
is that attempt is to try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt while purpose is instance; example.As verbs the difference between attempt and purpose
is that attempt is to try while purpose is have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.As nouns the difference between attempt and purpose
is that attempt is the action of trying at something while purpose is an object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.attempt
English
Verb
(en verb)- I attempted to sing, but my throat was too hoarse.
- to attempt an escape from prison
- Something attempted , something done, / Has earned a night's repose.
Sarah Glaz
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.}}
- It made the laughter of an afternoon / That Vivien should attempt the blameless king.
- one who attempts the virtue of a woman
- Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further: / Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute.
- to attempt the enemy's camp
- without attempting his adversary's life
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . SeeSynonyms
* take a stab at, take a run atNoun
(en noun)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}}
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 * tryStatistics
*External links
* * * English control verbspurpose
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)Ed Pilkington
‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
- United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
Sarah Glaz
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.}}
- (Spenser)
- The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy.
Synonyms
* (target ): aim, goal, object, target * (intention ): aim, plan, intention * (determination ): determination, intention, resolution * (subject of discourse ): matter, subject, topic * (reason for doing something ): reason * See alsoDerived terms
(terms derived from purpose) * all-purpose * common purpose * cross-purpose * fit for purpose * for all intents and purposes * game with a purpose * general-purpose * infinitive of purpose * multi-purpose * metapurpose * purpose-built * purposeful * purposeless * purpose-like * purpose loan * purposely * purpose statement * on purposeEtymology 2
From (etyl)Verb
(purpos)- I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living.
- (Spenser)