drudgery
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say drudgery?
Drudgery refers to menial, distasteful, or hard work. How is drudgery different from work, labor, or toil? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of drudgery
Explanation
If you’ve ever had to do the laundry, wash the dishes, make the meals, change the bedding, vacuum the house, and clean the bathrooms day after day, you’ve experienced drudgery. Drudgery is hard, mindless, backbreaking work. When you say the word drudgery, you can almost feel the hard, plodding work that it describes. You have to put some effort into saying the dr- sound. Then, as soon as you get through the breathy -u-, you’ve got two more hard sounds in -dg- and -er- before you get another break with the final vowel sound. Just as you might drag yourself doing those repetitive, grinding chores, you have to drag your way through pronouncing the word.
Vocabulary lists containing drudgery
Labor Day Lexicon: Words That Put You To Work
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Things They Carried
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Drill, 52, 63 Drudgery, 218 Education, intellectual, 57, 62; aim of, 143 f.,
From How We Think by Dewey, John
Their more serious Occupations are Sowing and Embroidery, and their greatest Drudgery the Preparation of Jellies and Sweetmeats.
From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph
Drudgery it may be at the time, a weary round, with no compensation apparent; but it is of just such stuff that real life is made.
From Problems of Conduct by Drake, Durant
He added with equal candour: "Drudgery great, but to an intelligent man the pickings may be considerable."
From Tommy and Grizel by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
A third time and heartily I say it,—"Blessed be Drudgery!"
From Vocal Expression A Class-book of Voice Training and Interpretation by Everts, Katherine Jewell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
