strife
/stɹaɪf/ noun C2- Striving; earnest endeavor; hard work.
- Exertion or contention for superiority, either by physical or intellectual means.
- Bitter conflict, sometimes violent.
- A trouble of any kind.
Plural strifes
From the library
The guests were still at table, and the heated and energetic conversation that prevailed betrayed the violent and vindictive passions that then agitated each dweller of the South, where unhappily, for five centuries religious strife had long given increased bitterness to the violence of party feeling.
When their strife was at its height, a Bramble from the neighboring hedge lifted up its voice, and said in a boastful tone: “Pray, my dear friends, in my presence at least cease from such vain disputings.”
I’ve done my best and I begin to understand what is meant by the ‘joy of the strife.’ Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.
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