tedious
Americanadjective
-
marked by monotony or tedium; long and tiresome.
tedious tasks; a tedious journey.
- Synonyms:
- dull, monotonous, boring, wearing
-
wordy so as to cause weariness or boredom, as a speaker, a writer, or the work they produce; prolix.
adjective
-
causing fatigue or tedium; monotonous
-
obsolete progressing very slowly
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tedious
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin tēdiōsus, Late Latin taediōsus, from taedi(um) tedium + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
If something is tedious, it's boring. If you're anxious to get outside and enjoy the sun, even the best lecture will seem tedious. Tedious is the adjective from tedium, which is both Latin and English for boredom. You ordinarily wouldn't use tedious for people, just things; you might say "His speeches are tedious," but usually not "He is tedious." Something that is tedious could also be called tiresome. Shakespeare's Friar Laurence says "I will be brief, for my short date of breath / Is not so long as is a tedious tale."
Vocabulary lists containing tedious
List 2
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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.
Furner points out that updating paper tags is tedious work, and he’d rather employees spend their afternoons helping customers than tending to a small forest of adhesive rectangles.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
They had little choice about their potential victims - in the end it was Jerry Hall and Ross Kemp who wandered in to join Maya and James A in deliberately tedious conversation.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
She relishes the tedious sausage-making of statecraft, the kind of stuff that makes you and me bleed from our ears.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
The process for reporting a stolen rental vehicle varies from state to state, but it is often tedious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Realizing that the work would be exceedingly tedious, he assigned it to young Clair Patterson as his dissertation project.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
