wearisome

American  

[weer-ee-suhm] / ˈwɪər i səm /

adjective

1. causing weariness; fatiguing.

   a difficult and wearisome march.

2. tiresome or tedious.

   a wearisome person; a wearisome book.

   Synonyms:

   prosaic, prosy, dull, humdrum, monotonous, boring

   Antonyms:

   interesting

---

wearisome British  

/ ˈwɪərɪsəm /

adjective

1. causing fatigue or annoyance; tedious

---

Other Word Forms

• unwearisome adjective
• wearisomely adverb
• wearisomeness noun

Etymology

Origin of wearisome

First recorded in 1400–50, wearisome is from the late Middle English word werysom. See weary, -some ¹

Explanation

Anything that's boring, tedious, or so dull that it puts you to sleep can be described as wearisome. Long bus rides and long classroom lectures can both be wearisome. The adjective wearisome is good for describing things that seem to last forever, that require repetition, or that are otherwise both boring and mentally exhausting. Always being told "Be careful!" by your parents can be wearisome, and typing data into a computer all day is also wearisome. The original, fifteenth century meaning of wearisome was "weary" or "tired," but it quickly came to mean "making one weary," from the Old English root werig, "tired."

Example Sentences

For the historian or biographer, such details are inescapably important; for the lay reader, they can become wearisome.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

“Though the road be long and wearisome that leads to a good neighborhood as wide as the world, we shall travel it together,” Truman told the appreciative audience.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

But when that goes on for days, and you haven't the memories of a night out with friends to offset it, it quickly become wearisome.

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2024

That gift grows more wearisome in the book’s final sections, as Markley balances ever-more-intense portraits of devastation with ever more pages of Ashir’s policy wonkery and scenes of boardroom debates.

From Washington Post • Jan. 6, 2023

Lips chapped and tempers frayed, and the ceaseless ringing and jingling of the troika bells grew so wearisome, it was like something out of Poe.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood