Strived

Strived is the simple past tense and, in some varieties of English, the past participle form of the verb strive. Strive means to make great efforts to achieve or obtain something, to exert oneself toward a goal, or to struggle toward improvement or success. It is commonly used with the prepositions to or for: for example, strive for excellence or strive to improve.

Strive originated in Old English strīfan and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch streden and German streiten, all sharing the sense of contending or struggling. The traditional past tense is strove, and the traditional past participle is striven. In modern usage, especially in American English, strived is widely used as both the past tense and the past participle, while strove and striven remain common in British English and in more formal writing.

Usage notes and examples: simple past can appear as They strove to finish the project on time, or They strived to finish the project on time. For the past perfect, one can say They had striven for years to become doctors. Strived is often preferred in contemporary American writing, whereas strove may carry a more formal or literary tone in some contexts.

Related terms include strive, striving, effort, and perseverance. Strive remains a versatile verb in both formal and informal contexts, with strived and strove as common past forms depending on regional and stylistic preferences.