Making an effort (6)
I believe the answer is:
trying
'making an effort' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for trying that I've seen before include "Making an effort - but annoying" , "work on bench" , "occupation of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jnr" , "Troublesome - but making an effort" , "irksome" .)