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Ordeal vs Struggle - What's the difference?

ordeal | struggle |

As nouns the difference between ordeal and struggle

is that ordeal is a painful or trying experience while struggle is strife, contention, great effort.

As a verb struggle is

to strive, to labour in difficulty, to fight (for'' or ''against ), to contend.

ordeal

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A painful or trying experience.
  • *
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=December 29 , author=Paul Doyle , title=Arsenal's Theo Walcott hits hat-trick in thrilling victory over Newcastle , work=The Guardian citation , page= , passage=Arsène Wenger confessed: "The result was not an accurate indication of the match." Certainly, at half-time it seemed unlikely that Arsenal would catch fire so spectacularly because the first half was a damp squib of a display from Wenger's team, as Newcastle initially showed no ill-effects from their Old Trafford ordeal .}}
  • A trial in which the accused was subjected to a dangerous test (such as ducking in water), divine authority deciding the guilt of the accused.

    • See also

    * trial by fire

    Anagrams

    * * *

    struggle

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l), (l) (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Strife, contention, great effort.
  • *, chapter=23
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The struggle with ways and means had recommenced, more difficult now a hundredfold than it had been before, because of their increasing needs. Their income disappeared as a little rivulet that is swallowed by the thirsty ground. He worked night and day to supplement it.}}

    Verb

    (struggl)
  • To strive, to labour in difficulty, to fight (for'' or ''against ), to contend.
  • :
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 1, author=Tom Fordyce, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland , passage=England were ponderous with ball in hand, their runners static when taking the ball and their lines obvious, while their front row struggled badly in the scrum.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)
    • , volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around.}}
  • To strive, or to make efforts, with a twisting, or with contortions of the body.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

    • Usage notes

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