laborious
Americanadjective
-
requiring much work, exertion, or perseverance.
a laborious undertaking.
-
characterized by or requiring extreme care and much attention to detail.
laborious research.
-
characterized by or exhibiting excessive effort, dullness, and lack of spontaneity; labored.
a strained, laborious plot.
-
given to or diligent in work.
a careful, laborious craftsman.
- Synonyms:
- painstaking, sedulous, assiduous, industrious, hardworking
adjective
-
involving great exertion or long effort
-
given to working hard
-
(of literary style, etc) not fluent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of laborious
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word labōriōsus. See labor, -ious
Explanation
Laborious describes something that requires a lot of hard work, such as Victor Frankenstein’s laborious undertaking of digging graves to find monster parts. Laborious comes from the familiar word for work, labor, which doesn’t veer far from its roots in Old French meaning "exertion of the body," and from Latin “toil, pain, exertion, fatigue.” Anything that requires blood, sweat, and tears is laborious, and while it’s usually a good thing to work hard, laborious can also describe something over-thought, such as the heavy-handed plot of a bad TV show. Think labor plus boring, said like an old-fashioned English aristocrat: luh-bohr-ee-uhs.
Vocabulary lists containing laborious
Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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 Great Gilly Hopkins
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!
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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.
If that makes the outcome seem like a foregone conclusion, it ain’t necessarily so, thanks to Labour’s laborious internal democratic process.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
Edwards is eventually acquitted, but the trial becomes so laborious that it loses its antic charm.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
“While we have tried to simplify the underlying concepts behind the Ontology model, building and implementing an Ontology in a large enterprise is a laborious process,” the analysts say.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
This is more laborious, of course, but also more likely to fetch you that bigger paycheck.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 21, 2026
Outside, Tyrion swallowed a lungful of the cold morning air and began his laborious descent of the steep stone steps that corkscrewed around the exterior of the library tower.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
