adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sedulous
1530–40; < Latin sēdulus, adj. derivative of the phrase sē dolō diligently, literally, without guile; replacing sedulious ( see sedulity, -ous)
Explanation
A sedulous person is someone who works hard and doesn't give up easily. If you make repeated and sedulous attempts to fix a leaky pipe and it only makes things worse, it might be time to go online and find the number of a plumber. There are a couple of words that basically mean the same thing as sedulous but are a little more common, namely assiduous, painstaking, and diligent. Like sedulous, all of these adjectives can be turned into adverbs by adding the suffix ly: "He assiduously tried to fix the pipe, but to no avail."
Vocabulary lists containing sedulous
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Scarlet Letter
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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.
Even then, I understood that the sedulous life and inclination of the archaeologist were ill-suited to movie-spy suavity.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
However, the NFL was undeterred, arrogant as usual and, most of all, sedulous in its planning.
From Washington Post • Sep. 12, 2020
The same refreshing sense of dorkiness that blew me straight back to eighth grade while watching it may be inseparable from the sedulous faithfulness to the text that makes this adaptation somewhat awkward.
From Slate • May 31, 2019
In his own right he remains one of jazz’s more sedulous bandleaders, and later this year, he’ll release a new album with his Captain Black Big Band.
From New York Times • Jul. 26, 2018
And that, following an assessment of his sedulous performance over the years, the distributor was promoting Mr. Dalai to manage the College Street branch.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
