trial

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. test, experiment, probation, hearing; hardship, ordeal; cross, tribulation, affliction; effort, attempt. See adversity, inquiry, lawsuit, punishment.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. tentative, test, trial balloon, preliminary, probationary, temporary; see also experimental .

n.

1. [An effort to learn the truth]

Syn. analysis, test, examination; see experiment 1 .

2. [A case at law]

Syn. suit, lawsuit, fair hearing, hearing, action, case, contest, indictment, legal proceedings, claim, cross-examination, litigation, counterclaim, replevin, arraignment, prosecution, citation, court action, judicial contest, seizure, assumpsit, bill of divorce, habeas corpus, court-martial, impeachment, rap*, try*, court clash*.

3. [An ordeal]

Syn. suffering, severe test, ordeal, crucible, tribulation, affliction, trying experience, misfortune, heavy blow, annoyance, bother, irritant, nuisance, headache*, pain*; see also affliction .

See Synonym Study at affliction .

• on trial,

4. in litigation, at law, before the bar, before a judge, before a jury, indicted, being tried.

5. on a trial basis, on approval, for a trial period, being tested, under consideration, not yet accepted; see also experimentally .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. tryout test, try, run, dry run, check, experiment, venture, *shot, *crack, *go, examination, essay, trial balloon, road test, lab test, clinical trial, *double blind, qualifying run.

2. hardship tribulation, test of one's mettle, trial by fire, ordeal, travail, torment, torture, trouble, difficulty, distress, adversity, misfortune, hard times, suffering, grief, *cross to bear.

3. court proceeding legal proceeding, hearing, inquisition, jury trial, court case, suit, lawsuit, litigation, action, examination, arraignment, prosecution.

II

a.

testing, experimental, tryout, observational, exploratory, probationary, pilot, tentative, provisional, preliminary, *watch and see.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. The examination and deciding upon evidence, charges, and claims in court: hearing. See LAW. 2. A procedure that ascertains effectiveness, value, proper function, or other quality: assay, essay, proof, test, tryout. See INVESTIGATE. 3. An operation employed to resolve an uncertainty: experiment, experimentation, test. See INVESTIGATE. 4. A trying to do or make something: attempt, crack, effort, endeavor, essay, go, offer, stab, try. Informal: shot. Slang: take. Archaic: assay. See TRY. 5. A state of pain or anguish that tests one's resiliency and character: crucible, ordeal, tribulation, visitation. See EASY. 6. Something hard to bear physically or emotionally: affliction, burden1, cross, tribulation. See HEAVY, OVER. 7. One that makes another totally miserable by causing sharp pain and irritation: thorn. Informal: pain. Idioms: pain in the neck, thorn in the flesh (or side). See PAIN. II adjective Constituting a tentative model for future experiment or development: experimental, pilot, test. See START.