toilsome
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- toilsomely adverb
- toilsomeness noun
Etymology
Origin of toilsome
Explanation
Something is toilsome if it's really difficult, requiring exhausting or boring effort. Shoveling a foot of heavy snow out of your neighbor's long driveway is toilsome. The adjective toilsome is archaic — it's hardly ever used anymore. It's a shame, because it's a good way to describe monotonous or strenuous work, like your toilsome math homework or your sister's toilsome job on a construction site. At the heart of toilsome is the verb toil, or "work," from the Old French toeillier, "drag about or make dirty," which is probably rooted in the Latin word tudiculare, "crush with a small hammer."
Vocabulary lists containing toilsome
Lee Surrenders to Grant (1865)
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Selected Short Stories of H.G. Wells
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Stories of Ourselves
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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.
The youngins showed stamina to withstand toilsome travel, punishing pace and reduced recovery time.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 8, 2021
After all, skating, as a recreational act, is relentless, toilsome, boring—it requires a commitment to drudgery and community that quickly weeds out those with impure motives.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 29, 2018
The work was at times physically toilsome and, it has to be admitted, brutally tedious for stretches of unthinkable duration.
From New York Times • Dec. 26, 2016
Oh, there were times, especially this season, when the process felt excruciating and toilsome.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2010
Though tautly stretched at the end of the boat, it sagged a little in the middle; it made for three or four toilsome, bouncy steps.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
