struggle vs essay

struggle and essay both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
struggle	Yes	No	Yes	No
essay	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, essay is a hypernym of struggle; that is, essay is a word with a broader meaning than struggle:

Other hypernyms of struggle include assay, attempt, seek, try.

struggle (noun)	essay (noun)
strenuous effort	a tentative attempt
an energetic attempt to achieve something	an analytic or interpretive literary composition
an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

struggle (verb)	essay (verb)
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight	make an effort or attempt
to exert strenuous effort against opposition	put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to
climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
make a strenuous or labored effort