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tiresome

American  
[tahyuhr-suhm] / ˈtaɪər səm /

adjective

  1. causing or liable to cause a person to tire; wearisome.

    a tiresome job.
    Synonyms:
    humdrum, dull

  2. annoying or vexatious.

    Antonyms:
    interesting
tiresome British  
/ ˈtaɪəsəm /

adjective

  1. boring and irritating; irksome

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • tiresomely adverb
  • tiresomeness noun

Etymology

Origin of tiresome

First recorded in 1490–1500; tire 1 + -some 1

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.

Why you should let it fade: Nostalgia proved to be a dastardly curse with “Little Fockers,” a theatrical experience memorable only for how dry and tiresome its comic beats were.

From Salon

“I thoroughly enjoy using Twitter to get a reaction out of tiresome people.”

From The Wall Street Journal

I think people will find this increasing speculation of real versus fake to be tiresome and begin to tune out.

From Barron's

It'll be long and tiresome in Washington on Friday, it's got all the potential to be gaudy and embarrassing, uneasy on the eyes and the ears.

From BBC

That impulse can be tiresome, and in “Zootopia 2” it is.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.