herculean
Americanadjective
-
requiring the great strength of a Hercules; very hard to perform.
Digging the tunnel was a herculean task.
- Synonyms:
- formidable, onerous, arduous, prodigious
-
having enormous strength, courage, or size.
-
(initial capital letter) of or relating to Hercules or his labors.
adjective
-
requiring tremendous effort, strength, etc
a herculean task
-
(sometimes capital) resembling Hercules in strength, courage, etc
Etymology
Origin of herculean
1590–1600; < Latin Hercule ( us ) of, belonging to Hercules + -an
Explanation
Things that take great strength — like throwing a boulder or finishing math homework — are sometimes called herculean in honor of Herculues, the hero from Greek mythology. Just like Thursday comes from the Scandinavian god Thor, the Greek hero Hercules gave us this word. Herculean was first used to describe Hercules himself, and later applied to anyone or anything who showed similar strength. Herculean can be used in several ways. You can make a herculean effort to accomplish a herculean task. Any job that is a piece of cake — an easy job that that anyone could do — is totally non-herculean. Save this word for jobs that really deserve the label.
Vocabulary lists containing herculean
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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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.
LeBron James’ Herculean effort led the shorthanded Lakers to a six-game series win over the Houston Rockets in the first round, setting up a conference semifinal series against the Oklahoma City Thunder that begins Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026
Kitchens are stripped bare and routine grocery trips are recast as a Herculean effort to avoid plastic-laden products.
From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026
“Even understanding Elon Musk’s history of doing difficult things, this seems like a Herculean task,” analysts from Morgan Stanley said in a recent note about Tesla developing a chip fab.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026
TMS commentator Aatif Nawaz: Though both England and Pakistan are heading into the World Cup with strong form, getting the better of India will be a Herculean task.
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026
And then, through some Herculean effort of will, I made myself climb.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
