Strife and Strive Are the Same Word
Strife is bitter conflict. It is the noun belonging to strive, and the two drifted apart until the link became invisible.
Strife is angry disagreement or conflict. It is simply the noun of *strive*: to strive was to contend or struggle, and strife was the struggling. The verb then softened into ambition — striving for excellence — while the noun kept the fighting. Two words from one root, now pulling in opposite directions.
- Bitter conflict. *Civil strife.*
- Domestic strife — conflict within a household. *Years of domestic strife.*
- Industrial strife — disputes between workers and employers. *A summer of industrial strife.*
- Strive — the related verb. *Strive to improve.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | strife | Endless strife. |
| Verb | strive | Strive harder. |
| Past | strove | They strove for years. |
| Participle | striven | Having striven. |
| Alternative past | strived | Also accepted. |
- The region has known decades of strife.Conflict.
- He strove to finish before dark.The verb.
- Party strife weakened the government.Political.
Noun and verb pairs that drifted
- Strife and strive — one kept conflict, the other took on effort
- Speech and speak — the vowel changed
- Belief and believe — spelling and sound diverged
- Grief and grieve — the same pattern
- Life and live — the closest parallel of all
Old French *estrif*, from a Germanic source, and connected with *strive*, from Old French *estriver*. English took both in the 1200s.
Is it strove or strived?
Both are accepted. Strove is the traditional past tense; strived is increasingly common and not wrong.
Are strife and strive related?
Yes. They came into English together from Old French and share a Germanic root meaning to contend.