ATTEMPTED

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does attempted mean? 

• ATTEMPTED (adjective)
  The adjective ATTEMPTED has 1 sense:

1. tried unsuccessfully

  Familiarity information: ATTEMPTED used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ATTEMPTED (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tried unsuccessfully

Context example:

attempted murder

Similar:

unsuccessful (not successful; having failed or having an unfavorable outcome)

 Context examples 

He lay down on the snow and attempted to sleep, but the frost soon drove him shivering to his feet.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He was overjoyed to see her, and longed to get to the top of the mountain, but the sides were so slippery that every time he attempted to climb he fell back again.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I shall not remain alone with them; I shall try to scale the castle wall farther than I have yet attempted.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He finished the stanza, attempted to read on, then came back to it.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He shrugged his shoulders, or attempted to shrug them, rather, for the left shoulder alone moved.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The scientists also attempted to clone macaques using nuclei from adult donors.

(Healthy cloned monkeys born in Shanghai, Wikinews)

He stood on his dignity, and when they attempted it, his warning snarl and bristling mane were anything but playful.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

There was a certain discipline among them, for none of them attempted to break the line which had been formed.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Amy was learning this distinction through much tribulation, for mistaking enthusiasm for inspiration, she attempted every branch of art with youthful audacity.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, the researchers attempted to stimulate the memory of the temporarily unneeded item.

(Recalling temporary memories, NIH)