strife
/stɹaɪf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Exertion or contention for superiority, either by physical or intellectual means.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife."
- "Hee is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions, and ſtrifes of wordes,[…]"
- "A few observations about the interpretation of vows or pledges may not be out of place here. Interpretation of pledges has been a fruitful source of strife all the world over. No matter how explicit the pledge, people will turn and twist the text to suit their own purposes."
- "He ſpide lamenting her unlucky ſtrife,"
- "The street cleaning machine, an English invention, which we described in No. 48, vol 2, Scientific American, was recently tested in a strife with hand labor, in Manchester, and it did better work and as much, with only the attendance of two men, than thirty men sweeping and using hoes and shovels."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: strif, estrif, *strīban