If you describe a task or job as laborious, you mean that it takes a lot of time and effort.
Keeping the garden tidy all year round can be a laborious task.
Synonyms: hard, difficult, tiring, exhausting More Synonyms of laborious
laboriouslyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
He sat behind a desk laboriously writing with an Army issue pen.
...the embroidery she'd worked on so laboriously during the long winter nights.
More Synonyms of laborious
laborious in British English
(ləˈbɔːrɪəs)
adjective
1.
involving great exertion or long effort
2.
given to working hard
3.
(of literary style, etc) not fluent
Derived forms
laboriously (laˈboriously)
adverb
laboriousness (laˈboriousness)
noun
laborious in American English
(ləˈbɔriəs)
adjective
1.
involving or calling for much hard work; difficult
2.
industrious; hardworking
3.
labored
SIMILAR WORDS: hard
Derived forms
laboriously (laˈboriously)
adverb
laboriousness (laˈboriousness)
noun
Word origin
ME < OFr laborios < L laboriosus < labor, labor
Examples of 'laborious' in a sentence
laborious
As well as being dangerous, the film-making process was laborious.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Small companies often complain of the laborious application processes attached to government work.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
To ride on the gallops at home he was terribly slow and laborious.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Tonight he takes on the physically and mentally laborious task of farming.
The Sun (2011)
And we then have to go through the whole laborious switching process again.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They were too slow and too laborious.
The Sun (2013)
She released her strong will from its laborious task.
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South (1855)
An immensely laborious process in homes where most mothers struggled to cope with all the other household jobs.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In addition to the poor sound, downloading is a slow and laborious process.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Cooking and picking a crab is a laborious task, though not a thankless one.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Each scene would be a slow, laborious process often involving up to a dozen takes.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He was obliged to make his way forward by digging approaches, a lengthy and laborious process.
Hibbert, Christopher Red Coats and Rebels - the war for America 1770-1781 (1990)
Was it a laborious task?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Talking is a laborious process.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
A few seconds of rhythm, long minutes of laborious bulk transfer from one foot to the other.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Meanwhile, countless people are making do with an inferior broadband service as they think it would be a laborious process to change their provider.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Other approaches to the same problem have involved cross breeding, but it's a far more laborious process.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Existing tests tend to look for one dangerous mutation at a time, a laborious process that limits them to patients already known to be at risk.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
So began a long, laborious rehabilitation, his father taking a year out from work to oversee the process.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
His plan was to use internet tracking technology to streamline this laborious process and provide more useful and timely information for other PR agencies.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In other languages
laborious
British English: laborious ADJECTIVE
If you describe a task or job as laborious, you mean that it takes a lot of time and effort.
Keeping the garden tidy all year round can be a laborious task.
American English: laborious
Brazilian Portuguese: laborioso
Chinese: 费时费力的
European Spanish: laborioso
French: laborieux
German: mühsam
Italian: laborioso
Japanese: 労力を要する
Korean: 힘든
European Portuguese: laborioso
Latin American Spanish: laborioso
Chinese translation of 'laborious'
laborious
(ləˈbɔːrɪəs)
adj
艰(艱)苦的 (jiānkǔ de)
1 (adjective)
Definition
involving great exertion or prolonged effort
Keeping the garden tidy all year round can be a laborious task.
Synonyms
hard
Coping with three babies is very hard work.
difficult
It is difficult to read the sign from here.
tiring
It had been a long and tiring day.
exhausting
She had set herself an exhausting schedule.
wearing
She finds his continual demands very wearing.
tough
Whoever wins the election is going to have a tough job.
fatiguing
uphill
It had been an uphill struggle to achieve what she wanted.
strenuous
Avoid strenuous exercise in the evening.
arduous
The task was more arduous than he had calculated.
tiresome
My neighbour is petty and tiresome.
onerous
parents who have had the onerous task of bringing up a difficult child
burdensome
herculean
Finding a lawyer may seem like a Herculean task.
wearisome
a long and wearisome task
backbreaking
toilsome (literary)
Opposites
easy
,
effortless
,
light
,
easy-peasy (slang)
2 (adjective)
Definition
involving great exertion or prolonged effort
He was gentle and kindly, living a laborious life in his Paris flat.
Synonyms
industrious
She was an industrious and willing worker
hard-working
diligent
a diligent student
tireless
He was a tireless worker for justice.
persevering
painstaking
Police carried out a painstaking search of the area.
indefatigable
His indefatigable spirit helped him to cope with the illness.
assiduous
an assiduous student
unflagging
He was sustained by the unflagging support of his family.
sedulous
3 (adjective)
a laborious prose style
Synonyms
forced
a forced smile
laboured
From his slow walk and laboured breathing, she realized he was not well.
strained
His laughter seemed a little strained.
ponderous
He strolled about with a ponderous, heavy gait.
not fluent
Opposites
simple
,
natural
Additional synonyms
in the sense of arduous
Definition
difficult to accomplish
The task was more arduous than he had calculated.
Synonyms
difficult,
trying,
hard,
tough,
tiring,
severe,
painful,
exhausting,
punishing,
harsh,
taxing,
heavy,
steep,
formidable,
fatiguing,
rigorous,
troublesome,
gruelling,
strenuous,
onerous,
laborious,
burdensome,
backbreaking,
toilsome (literary)
in the sense of assiduous
Definition
hard-working
an assiduous student
Synonyms
diligent,
constant,
steady,
hard-working,
persistent,
attentive,
persevering,
laborious,
industrious,
indefatigable,
studious,
unflagging,
untiring,
swotty (British, informal),
sedulous,
unwearied
in the sense of difficult
Definition
not easy to do, understand, or solve
It is difficult to read the sign from here.
Synonyms
hard,
tough,
taxing,
demanding,
challenging,
painful,
exacting,
formidable,
uphill,
strenuous,
problematic,
arduous,
onerous,
laborious,
burdensome,
wearisome,
no picnic (informal),
toilsome,
like getting blood out of a stone
Nearby words of
laborious
kudos
la-di-da
label
laborious
labour
Labour Party
laboured
Synonyms of 'laborious'
laborious
Explore 'laborious' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of diligent
Definition
carried out with care and perseverance
a diligent student
Synonyms
hard-working,
careful,
conscientious,
earnest,
active,
busy,
persistent,
attentive,
persevering,
tireless,
painstaking,
laborious,
industrious,
indefatigable,
studious,
assiduous,
swotty (British, informal),
sedulous
in the sense of exhausting
She had set herself an exhausting schedule.
Synonyms
tiring,
hard,
testing,
taxing,
difficult,
draining,
punishing,
crippling,
fatiguing,
wearying,
gruelling,
sapping,
debilitating,
strenuous,
arduous,
laborious,
enervating,
backbreaking
in the sense of herculean
Definition
(of a task) requiring tremendous effort or strength
Finding a lawyer may seem like a Herculean task.
Synonyms
arduous,
hard,
demanding,
difficult,
heavy,
tough,
exhausting,
formidable,
gruelling,
strenuous,
prodigious,
onerous,
laborious,
toilsome (literary)
in the sense of indefatigable
Definition
never getting tired or giving up
His indefatigable spirit helped him to cope with the illness.
Synonyms
tireless,
dogged,
persevering,
patient,
relentless,
diligent,
inexhaustible,
unremitting,
assiduous,
unflagging,
untiring,
sedulous,
pertinacious,
unwearying,
unwearied
in the sense of laboured
Definition
undertaken with difficulty
From his slow walk and laboured breathing, she realized he was not well.
Synonyms
difficult,
forced,
strained,
heavy,
awkward
in the sense of onerous
Definition
(of a task) difficult to carry out
parents who have had the onerous task of bringing up a difficult child
Synonyms
trying,
hard,
taxing,
demanding,
difficult,
heavy,
responsible,
grave,
crushing,
arduous,
exhausting,
exacting,
formidable,
troublesome,
oppressive,
weighty,
laborious,
burdensome,
irksome,
backbreaking,
exigent
in the sense of painstaking
Definition
extremely careful and thorough
Police carried out a painstaking search of the area.
Synonyms
thorough,
careful,
meticulous,
earnest,
exacting,
strenuous,
conscientious,
persevering,
diligent,
scrupulous,
industrious,
assiduous,
thoroughgoing,
punctilious (formal),
sedulous
in the sense of ponderous
Definition
(of movement) slow and clumsy
He strolled about with a ponderous, heavy gait.
Synonyms
clumsy,
awkward,
lumbering,
laborious,
graceless,
elephantine,
heavy-footed,
unco (Australian, slang)
in the sense of strained
Definition
(of an action, expression, etc.) not natural or spontaneous
His laughter seemed a little strained.
Synonyms
forced,
put on,
false,
artificial,
unnatural,
laboured
in the sense of strenuous
Definition
requiring or involving the use of great energy or effort
Avoid strenuous exercise in the evening.
Synonyms
demanding,
hard,
tough,
exhausting,
taxing,
uphill,
arduous,
laborious,
Herculean,
tough going,
toilsome (literary),
unrelaxing
Additional synonyms
in the sense of tireless
Definition
energetic and determined
He was a tireless worker for justice.
Synonyms
energetic,
vigorous,
industrious,
determined,
resolute,
indefatigable,
unflagging,
untiring,
unwearied
in the sense of tiresome
Definition
boring and irritating
My neighbour is petty and tiresome.
Synonyms
boring,
annoying,
irritating,
trying,
wearing,
dull,
tedious,
exasperating,
monotonous,
laborious,
uninteresting,
irksome,
wearisome,
vexatious
in the sense of tiring
It had been a long and tiring day.
Synonyms
exhausting,
demanding,
wearing,
tough,
exacting,
fatiguing,
wearying,
strenuous,
arduous,
laborious,
enervative
in the sense of toilsome
Definition
requiring hard work
Synonyms
laborious,
hard,
taxing,
difficult,
tough,
severe,
painful,
fatiguing,
tedious,
strenuous,
arduous,
tiresome,
herculean,
wearisome,
backbreaking
in the sense of tough
Definition
difficult or troublesome to do or deal with
Whoever wins the election is going to have a tough job.
Synonyms
hard,
difficult,
exhausting,
troublesome,
uphill,
strenuous,
arduous,
thorny,
laborious,
irksome
in the sense of unflagging
He was sustained by the unflagging support of his family.
Synonyms
constant,
steady,
tireless,
fixed,
persistent,
staunch,
persevering,
unremitting,
indefatigable,
unfailing,
unceasing,
untiring,
unfaltering,
undeviating,
unwearied
in the sense of uphill
Definition
requiring a great deal of effort
It had been an uphill struggle to achieve what she wanted.