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View synonyms for

essay

[ noun es-ey es-ey, e-sey verb e-sey ]

noun

  1. a short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative.
  2. anything resembling such a composition:

    a picture essay.

  3. an effort to perform or accomplish something; attempt.
  4. Philately. a design for a proposed stamp differing in any way from the design of the stamp as issued.
  5. Obsolete. a tentative effort; trial; assay.


verb (used with object)

  1. to try; attempt.
  2. to put to the test; make trial of.

essay

noun

  1. a short literary composition dealing with a subject analytically or speculatively
  2. an attempt or endeavour; effort
  3. a test or trial
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to attempt or endeavour; try
  2. to test or try out
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

essay

  1. A short piece of writing on one subject, usually presenting the author's own views. Michel de Montaigne , Francis Bacon (see also Bacon ), and Ralph Waldo Emerson are celebrated for their essays.
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Other Word Forms

  • ·İ noun
  • e· verb (used without object)
  • ܲe· adjective
  • ɱ-· adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of essay1

First recorded in 1475–85; from Middle French essayer, from Late Latin exagium “a weighing,” from exag(ere) (unrecorded) “to examine, test,” literally, “to drive out, thrust out” (from Latin exigere; exact ) + -ium -ium
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Word History and Origins

Origin of essay1

C15: from Old French essaier to attempt, from essai an attempt, from Late Latin exagium a weighing, from Latin agere to do, compel, influenced by exigere to investigate
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The U.N. and the European Union would condemn the seizure as illegitimate and demand negotiations; stern essays would be written casting America as a pariah state no better than Russia.

From

That was apparently because Decker published an essay, titled "When Must We Kill Them?," on his blog posing the question of when violence becomes justified in the face of authoritarianism.

From

“Laudato Si” is almost certainly the most famous climate essay ever written.

From

In an essay for the New York Times called "My Dinner With Adolf," David took Maher to task for attempting to soften the image of a fascist strongman.

From

Once, when he was tasked with writing an essay about the Scythian period of Indian history, he travelled to a museum in a neighbouring state to study first-hand sculptures and scripts from that era.

From

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Essaouiraessayist