arduous

[ahr-joo-uhs, ahr-dyoo-]

adjective

1. requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult.

   an arduous undertaking.

   Synonyms: exhausting, burdensome, wearisome, onerous, toilsome, hard
   Antonyms: easy

2. requiring or using much energy and vigor; strenuous.

   making an arduous effort.

3. hard to climb; steep.

   an arduous path up the hill.

4. hard to endure; full of hardships; severe.

   an arduous winter.

arduous

/ ˈɑːdjʊəs /

adjective

1. requiring great physical or mental effort; difficult to accomplish; strenuous

2. hard to endure; harsh

   arduous conditions

3. hard to overcome or surmount; steep or difficult

   an arduous track

Other Word Forms

• arduously adverb
• arduousness noun
• superarduous adjective
• superarduously adverb
• superarduousness noun
• unarduous adjective
• unarduously adverb
• unarduousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of arduous¹

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin arduus “erect, laborious, steep”

Word History and Origins

Origin of arduous¹

C16: from Latin arduus steep, difficult

Example Sentences

Toiling in newly opened textile mills was arduous, as some diarists wrote.

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Prepping your menu doesn’t have to — and shouldn’t — be an arduous endeavor.

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Learning a musical instrument can be an arduous journey, one often fraught with blistered fingers, frayed patience and what can seem like an endless series of insurmountable hurdles.

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This arduous evening in Denmark won't have left him feeling any younger.

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“It is, above all, arduous, painstaking work that calls for an intense effort, perseverance, stamina, fortitude, will power, serious knowledge and great mastery.”

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Related Words

• backbreaking 
• burdensome 
• exhausting 
• formidable 
• grueling 
• laborious 
• onerous 
• painful 
• rigorous 
• strenuous 
• tiring www.thesaurus.com
• tough 
• troublesome 
• trying 
• uphill