WordWeb Online

1. Hard to endure
   "fell upon trying times"
    
2. Extremely irritating to the nerves
   "a trying day at the office";
   - nerve-racking, nerve-wracking, stressful

1. Make an effort to accomplish something
   "He tried to shake off his fears";
   - seek, attempt, essay, assay
    
2. Put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to
   "This approach has been tried with good results"; "try out this recipe";
   - test, prove, try out, examine, essay, trial
    
3. Hear a case and sit as the judge at a trial or hearing
   "The football star was tried for the murder of his wife";
   - judge, adjudicate
    
4. Take a sample of
   "Try these new crackers"; "try out the regional dishes";
   - sample, try out, taste
    
5. Examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process
   "The case will be tried in California";
   - hear
    
6. Give pain or trouble to
   "I've been sorely tried by these students"
    
7. Test the limits of
   "You are trying my patience!";
   - strain, stress
    
8. (cooking) melt (fat or lard) in order to separate out impurities
   "try the yak butter";
   - render
    
9. Put on a garment in order to see whether it fits and looks nice
   "Try on this sweater to see how it looks";
   - try on

See also: difficult, disagreeable, hard

Type of: act, afflict, anguish, assume, consume, decide, determine, don, evaluate, examine, get into, have, hurt, ingest, judge, make up one's mind, melt, melt down, move, pain, pass judgment, probe, put on, run, take, take in, wear

Encyclopedia: Trying