attempt

attempt既可作名词表示“尝试、企图”，也可作动词表示“试图做某事”；在新闻或法律语境中还可表示攻击或犯罪未遂。

💡 记忆钩子

把attempt想成“伸手去试一把”：伸手去做某事，就是“试图、尝试”；这次伸手本身，就是一次“尝试”。如果伸手的目标是伤害别人或实施犯罪，就引申为“攻击企图”或“未遂行为”。

📝 学习建议

先掌握“尝试、试图”这一主线，再认识新闻中的“攻击企图”和法律中的“未遂”。
不要把attempt理解成“成功做到”；它强调采取了行动或作出了努力，结果可能失败。

📖 中文释义

noun

core 尝试；努力

📖 指为了完成某事而采取的一次行动或作出的努力，重点是“试着做”，不保证成功。

💡 常用“make an attempt to do something”或“an attempt at something”。不要把它当作普通的“行动”来泛指已经完成的事；在日常口语中，较轻松的语境常用更简单的词。

We made an attempt to repair the old bicycle.

我们试着修理那辆旧自行车。
common 攻击企图

📖 指针对某人、国家或政权的攻击或伤害企图，尤其常用于刺杀等严重事件；这里强调的是“企图”本身，不一定已经得逞。

💡 新闻和正式叙述中常见“an attempt on someone's life”这一结构，也可说“an attempt to attack someone”。这个义项比普通的“尝试”更严肃，不能随意用于一般的小冲突。

The police stopped an attempt on the minister's life.

警方阻止了一起针对部长的刺杀企图。
rare 犯罪未遂

📖 法律语境中指已经作出实质性犯罪行动、但犯罪没有完成的情形，是“尝试”在刑法中的专门用法。

💡 通常出现在法律文件、判决或法律讨论中，常与具体罪名连用。日常谈话中不要用它代替一般的“尝试”。
common 自杀未遂

📖 专指一个人试图自杀但没有成功的行为，常用于医疗、新闻或严肃叙述。

💡 常见结构是“a suicide attempt”或“after a suicide attempt”。这是敏感且正式的表达，谈论真实事件时应保持克制，避免把它用于夸张或玩笑。

She survived a suicide attempt and received medical care.

她在一次自杀未遂后幸存下来并接受了医疗救治。

attempts plural

verb

core 试图；尝试

📖 指着手去做某事，强调行动和努力，而不是结果；可以用于成功或失败的尝试。

💡 最常见结构是“attempt to do something”，也可用“attempt something”表示尝试某项任务。它通常比日常口语中较随意的表达更正式，不能自然地用来表示单纯“试吃、试穿”等轻微体验。

The climbers attempted to reach the summit before sunset.

登山者试图在日落前到达山顶。

He attempted a difficult puzzle but gave up after an hour.

他尝试解一道很难的谜题，但一小时后放弃了。
rare 试图劝动；诱使

📖 古旧用法，指用劝说、困苦或诱惑去试探并促使某人行动，可看作“伸手去影响别人”的旧式引申。

💡 只在古典文本或仿古语体中出现，现代英语中不要用它表达普通的“劝说”或“诱惑”。

obsolete
rare 试图赢得或制服

📖 古旧用法，指试图赢得某人、制服对方或克服某种阻力。

💡 主要见于古典文学或历史性文字，现代表达中通常改用表示赢得、征服或克服的常用词。

archaic
rare 攻击；强行夺取

📖 古旧用法，指向敌人发动攻击或试图用武力夺取某处、某物。

💡 通常只在古旧叙述或历史语境中出现，现代英语中不宜用它代替表示攻击的普通动词。

archaic
rare 犯罪未遂

📖 刑法术语，指已经迈出直接而实质的一步去实施犯罪，但犯罪最终没有完成。

💡 只用于法律语境，常见于法规、判决和法律分析中。不要把它用于普通的失败尝试，也不要误解为犯罪已经完成。

attempts present,singular,third-person attempting participle,present attempted participle,past attempted past attempt first-person,present,singular attempted first-person,past,singular attempt present,second-person,singular attemptest archaic,present,second-person,singular attempted past,second-person,singular attemptedst archaic,past,second-person,singular attempteth archaic,present,singular,third-person attempted past,singular,third-person attempt plural,present attempted past,plural attempt present,subjunctive attempted past,subjunctive attempt imperative,present - imperative,past

📘 英文释义 (WordNet) 共 4 组

the act of attacking;

同义词集: attack attempt

attacks on women increased last year

they made an attempt on his life

上位: crime, criminal offence, criminal offense, law-breaking 下位: assault

earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; ;

同义词集: attempt effort endeavor endeavour try

made an effort to cover all the reading material

wished him luck in his endeavor

she gave it a good try

上位: activity 下位: batting, battle, best, bid, contribution, crack, essay, fling, foray, go, liberation, nisus, offer, pains, part, pass, play, power play, run, seeking, share, shot, squeeze, squeeze play, stab, strain, striving, struggle, test, trial, whirl, worst

enter upon an activity or enterprise

同义词集: undertake set about attempt

上位: initiate, pioneer

make an effort or attempt; ; ; ;

同义词集: try seek attempt essay assay

He tried to shake off his fears

The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps

The police attempted to stop the thief

He sought to improve himself

She always seeks to do good in the world

上位: act, move 下位: adventure, chance, endeavor, endeavour, fight, gamble, hazard, lay on the line, put on the line, risk, run a risk, strive, struggle, take a chance, take chances 参见: essay, examine, prove, test, try, try out

🌳 词源

动词来自古法语和拉丁语，原意与“尝试”有关；名词后来发展出“企图攻击、刺杀未遂”等含义。

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin temptō Latin attemptōder. Old French atempterbor. Middle English attempten English attempt Late 14th century, as Middle English attempten, from Old French atempter, from Latin attemptō (“to try, solicit”), from ad- (“to”) + temptō; see tempt. The noun is from the 1530s, the sense "an assault on somebody's life, assassination attempt" (French attentat) is from 1580. By surface analysis, at- + tempt.

🔄 变式

- imperat attempted 1st_sg attemptedst archaic attemptest archaic attempteth archaic attempting present attempts plural

🏷 单词标签 & 词根