Sisyphean
Americanadjective
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relating to Sisyphus
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actually or seemingly endless and futile
Usage
What does Sisyphean mean? Sisyphean describes a task as seemingly endless and futile—you keep doing it but it never gets done. The word comes from the name of Sisyphus, a character in Greek mythology who was punished by being forced to continuously roll a boulder up a steep hill. Every time he was just about to get it to the top, the boulder would roll back down, and he’d have to start all over again. Because it’s based on a name, Sisyphean is often capitalized, but not always. It is especially used in the phrase Sisyphean task. Example: With a family of six, laundry is a Sisyphean task—it seems there is always another load to wash.
Etymology
Origin of Sisyphean
First recorded in 1625–35; from Greek Sīsýphe(ios), Sī́syph(ios) + -eios adjective suffix; see origin at Sisyphus, -an
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.
Training for the Olympics is a Sisyphean task, but if you’re a curler, pushing a rock is kind of your thing.
From Slate • Feb. 27, 2026
Much tougher, though, is the Sisyphean nature of his task.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
In many ways, horror has already won, and trying to push it back toward Oscar glory is a futile, Sisyphean endeavor.
From Salon • Oct. 23, 2025
Alas, Autumn’s struggle to leave town becomes Sisyphean.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2025
Making himself useful as always, he took upon himself the Sisyphean task of keeping all those Modernist surfaces sparkling.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
