51Թ

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View synonyms for

essay

[es-ey, es-ey, e-sey, 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 51Թ Forms

  • essayer noun
  • preessay verb (used without object)
  • unessayed adjective
  • well-essayed adjective
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51Թ 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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51Թ 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.

Fans and scholars have retrospectively diagnosed the character as being on the spectrum, and you can easily find essays and discussions as to whether Poirot’s fastidiousness at least borders on OCD.

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That date was met by many essays and other commentaries and analyses by the news media and political class.

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And there’s probably a perfectly fine 800-word essay one could write about the little journey Anne’s desperate line of seduction made along its way to television immortality.

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Furthermore, 16% of people using AI said they didn’t even recognize their essay as their own after completing it, compared to 0% of students in the other group, she added.

From

"Here, the 'art' enters the service of Marxist propaganda for conscientious objection," the catalog essay continued, referring to the practice of resisting conscription on moral grounds, even under threat of punishment by the state.

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