arduous

[ahr-joo-uhs or, esp. British, ahr-dyoo-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arduous ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of arduous

1530–40; < Latin arduus erect, steep, laborious; see -ous

Related formsar·du·ous·ly, adverbar·du·ous·ness, nounsu·per·ar·du·ous, adjectivesu·per·ar·du·ous·ly, adverbsu·per·ar·du·ous·ness, nounun·ar·du·ous, adjectiveun·ar·du·ous·ly, adverbun·ar·du·ous·ness, noun

Synonyms for arduous

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arduous ON THESAURUS.COM

1. hard, toilsome, onerous, wearisome, burdensome, exhausting.

Antonyms for arduous

1. easy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for arduous

uphill, onerous, trying, tough, grueling, backbreaking, tiring, exhausting, burdensome, strenuous, formidable, rigorous, troublesome, laborious, painful, harsh, heavy, labored, murder, punishing

Examples from the Web for arduous

Contemporary Examples of arduous

It's slow and arduous and takes great concentration under the best of circumstances.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
Even more striking are the courteous and collegial manners displayed, even during the arduous filibuster in the Senate.
How a Dream Became a Law: Passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Wendy Smith
March 31, 2014
Once the budget has been creatively handled, a director still faces the arduous task of casting.
The Art of Smutty Spoofs: Porn Parodies Aren’t a Joke Anymore
Aurora Snow
March 15, 2014
The road to the Olympics is already long and arduous enough.
India’s Olympic Mess: Why You Won’t See the Nation’s Flag in Sochi
Kevin Fixler
February 6, 2014
His successors will face the arduous task of fleshing out the content of this “pivot.”
Hats Off to Tom Donilon
Leslie H. Gelb
June 5, 2013

Historical Examples of arduous

Every thought was bent to attain the end, no labour was deemed to arduous.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
How arduous and delicate they were may be readily understood.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
In the Winter of 1841, his duties were most trying and arduous.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
It is I, not she, at this rate, that must fail in the arduous trial.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Engage not in so arduous and important an enterprise immaturely.
Imogen
William Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for arduous

arduous

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 Formsarduously, adverbarduousness, noun

Word Origin for arduous

C16: from Latin arduus steep, difficult

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arduous

adj.

1530s, "hard to accomplish, difficult to do," from Latin arduus "high, steep," also figuratively, "difficult," from PIE root *eredh- "to grow, high" (see ortho-). Literal sense of "high, steep, difficult to climb," attested in English from 1709.