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arduous
[ ahr-joo-uhs or, especially British, ahr-dyoo- ]
/ ËÉr dÊu És or, especially British, ËÉr dyu- /
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adjective
requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult: an arduous undertaking.
requiring or using much energy and vigor; strenuous: making an arduous effort.
hard to climb; steep: an arduous path up the hill.
hard to endure; full of hardships; severe: an arduous winter.
OTHER WORDS FOR arduous
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!
Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.
Question 1 of 7
âWasâ is used for the indicative past tense of âto be,â and âwereâ is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
Origin of arduous
1530â40; <Latin arduus erect, steep, laborious; see -ous
OTHER WORDS FROM arduous
Words nearby arduous
Ardipithecus ramidus, Ardmore, ardor, ardour, ARDS, arduous, are, area, Area 51, area bombing, area code
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use arduous in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for arduous
arduous
/ (ËÉËdjÊÉs) /
adjective
requiring great physical or mental effort; difficult to accomplish; strenuous
hard to endure; harsharduous conditions
hard to overcome or surmount; steep or difficultan arduous track
Derived forms of arduous
arduously, adverbarduousness, nounWord Origin for arduous
C16: from Latin arduus steep, difficult
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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