Collocations with attempt

attempt _noun

ADJECTIVES

unsuccessful, failed, abortive
・All attempts to find a cure havebeen unsuccessful.
・There was an abortive attempt by a Hollywood director to make Gibson’s book into a film.

vain
・The teacher made a vain attempt to separate the two boys.

doomed, futile
・His attempt to reach the Pole was doomed from the beginning.
・I jumped up and down in a futile attempt to keep warm.

brave, bold, valiant
・She made a valiant attempt to continue playing, but the pain was too much.
・The project is making a bold attempt to change the lives of young gang members.

botched
They had to call a plumber after their botched attempt to fix the problem themselves.

successful
・The writer has made a successful attempt at showing the panic the characters felt.

determined, deliberate, conscious
・This was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.

concerted
・The party has made a concerted attempt to have more women candidates.

serious, genuine
・This is the first serious attempt to tackle the problem.

desperate, frantic
・Doctors made a desperate attempt to save his life.

feeble, weak
・She ignored David’s feeble attempt at humour.

half-hearted
・She made a half-hearted attempt to mop up the spilled milk.

clumsy, crude
・A child’s first clumsy attempts at writing soon improve.

blatant
・It was a blatant attempt to hide the truth.

final, last
・The deal is a final attempt to save 5,000 jobs.

last-ditch
・Negotiators are making a last-ditch attempt to save the agreement.

repeated
・I made repeated attempts to contact her, but without success.

VERBS

make
・She made several attempts to escape.

abandon, give up
・The climbers had to give up their attempt to reach the summit.
・The weather forced him to abandon his attempt to fly around the world in a hot-air balloon.

fail in
・He failed in his attempt to set a new Olympic record.

succeed in
・The 16-year-old succeeded in his attempt to sail across the Atlantic Ocean.

foil, thwart
・Alert passengers foiled his attempt to set off a bomb on the airplane.

ATTEMPT + VERB
fail, succeed
・All attempts to find a cure have failed.

NOUNS

rescue
・Two firefighters were hurt in the rescue attempt.

assassination
・A bodyguard was wounded in an assassination attempt on the president.

escape
・The prisoner has made two previous escape attempts.

suicide
・He was admitted to hospital after a suicide attempt.

coup
・The rebels left the country after the failed coup attempt.

PREPOSITIONS

at
・She made an attempt at a smile.

PHRASES

on the first/second etc.
・They reached the top of the mountain on their second attempt.

in an attempt to do sth
・She began to run in an attempt to get away.