tri·al
(trī́əl, trīl)
[Middle English triall, a testing, from Anglo-Norman trial, from trier, to sort, try.]
noun
- Law Examination of evidence and applicable law by a competent tribunal to determine the issue of specified charges or claims.
- The act or process of testing, trying, or putting to the proof: a trial of one's faith.
- An instance of such testing, especially as part of a series of tests or experiments: a clinical trial of a drug.
- An effort or attempt: succeeded on the third trial.
- A state of pain or anguish that tests patience, endurance, or belief: “the fiery trial through which we pass” (Abraham Lincoln)
- A trying, troublesome, or annoying person or thing: The child was a trial to his parents.
- A preliminary competition or test to determine qualifications, as in a sport.
adjective
- Of, relating to, or used in a trial.
- Attempted or advanced on a provisional or experimental basis: a trial separation.
- Made or done in the course of a trial or test.
idioms
- on trial
- In the process of being tried, as in a court of law.
- trial by fire
- A test of one's abilities, especially the ability to perform well under pressure.
synonyms:
trial, affliction, crucible, ordeal, tribulation These nouns denote distress or suffering that severely tests resiliency and character: no consolation in their hour of trial; the affliction of a bereaved family; the crucible of revolution; the ordeal of being an innocent murder suspect; a time of relentless tribulation.- See also: burden1
