"struggles" in the noun sense
1. struggle, battle
an energetic attempt to achieve something
"getting through the crowd was a real struggle"
"he fought a battle for recognition"
2. conflict, struggle, battle
an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals
"the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph"
3. struggle
strenuous effort
"the struggle to get through the crowd exhausted her"
"struggles" in the verb sense
1. fight, struggle
make a strenuous or labored effort
"She struggled for years to survive without welfare"
"He fought for breath"
2. struggle
to exert strenuous effort against opposition
"he struggled to get free from the rope"
3. clamber, scramble, shin, shinny, skin, struggle, sputter
climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
4. contend, fight, struggle
be engaged in a fight carry on a fight
"the tribesmen fought each other"
"Siblings are always fighting"
"Militant groups are contending for control of the country"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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