Strive
Strive verb - To devote serious and sustained effort.
Usage example: not only must we strive for peace in time of war, we must strive mightily to maintain that peace
Work is a synonym for strive in labour topic. In some cases you can use "Work" instead the word "Strive" as a verb or a noun, when it comes to topics like try, try for.
Work
Work verb - To devote serious and sustained effort.
Usage example: the organization has worked for years to raise people's awareness of human rights issues
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
| version | strive version | work version |
Both words in one sentence
- Silently shall I strive to go my way, as They do, doing my work unseen; the light needs no reminding by me of good deeds done by night.
Source: Badass Creed / Literature - When it was staged as a Broadway musical in 1993, they rewrote the meaning of the ending so that instead of Tommy insisting you have to work and suffer for the spiritual revelations, you should strive to be normal because that's the best gift.
Source: Adaptational Context Change -
Shown Their Work: The setting of Overland Park, Kansas was chosen entirely at random, but the writers still strive to keep it and its surrounding geography accurate.
Cite this Source
Work and Strive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/strive/work
Strive & Work. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/strive/work>.
Work or Strive. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/strive/work.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "strive" and "work" have occurred on timeline