struggle

The word “struggle” means to make a strong, difficult effort to do, achieve, or overcome something. In plain terms, fighting hard against something difficult, whether it’s a task, an opponent, or circumstances.

“Struggle” is pronounced STRUH-guhl (/ˈstɹʌɡəl/ in IPA).

Here is “struggle” used in a sentence: “She struggled to finish the marathon in the heat.”

Depending on how it is used, “struggle” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “struggle” comes from Middle English. From Middle English struglen, of uncertain origin, possibly related to Middle Dutch words meaning "to stumble" or "to trip.".

“Struggle” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Struggle” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to make a strong, difficult effort to do, achieve, or overcome something.

Both involve determined effort, but the emphasis differs. To strive is to work hard toward a goal, stressing ambition and aspiration. To struggle stresses the difficulty and hardship involved, suggesting you are up against real resistance. You can strive calmly, but struggling implies you are finding something genuinely tough.

Not entirely. It describes difficulty, which sounds negative, but it usually also implies effort and perseverance rather than giving up. Saying that someone struggled to finish a race can actually highlight their determination. Context decides the tone: struggle can express hardship, admiration for persistence, or both at once.

The opposite is doing something easily and smoothly. Verbs like breeze through, glide, sail through, or manage with ease all capture the idea of effortless success. Where struggle suggests fighting against resistance, its opposites suggest little or no difficulty at all.