trial

Noun

• an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
  • his mother-in-law's visits were a great trial for him
    
  • life is full of tribulations
    
  • a visitation of the plague
    

• (sports) a preliminary competition to determine qualifications
  • the trials for the semifinals began yesterday
    

• (law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law
  • he had a fair trial and the jury found him guilty
    
  • most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial
    

• the act of undergoing testing
  • he survived the great test of battle
    
  • candidates must compete in a trial of skill
    

• trying something to find out about it
  • a sample for ten days free trial
    
  • a trial of progesterone failed to relieve the pain
    

• the act of testing something
  • in the experimental trials the amount of carbon was measured separately
    
  • he called each flip of the coin a new trial
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  tribulation , visitation , test , trial run , tryout , run