Herculean
adjective
Her·cu·le·an ˌhər-kyə-ˈlē-ən 
ˌhər-ˈkyü-lē-
ˌhər-ˈkyü-lē- 1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of Hercules
2
often not capitalized : of extraordinary power, extent, intensity, or difficulty
Herculean tasks
Herculean proportions
Did you know?
The hero Hercules, son of the god Zeus by a human mother, was famous for his superhuman strength. To pacify the wrath of the god Apollo, he was forced to perform twelve enormously difficult tasks, or "labors". These ranged from descending into the underworld to bring back the terrifying dog that guarded its entrance to destroying the many-headed monster called the Hydra. Any job or task that's extremely difficult or calls for enormous strength is therefore called herculean.
Synonyms
- arduous
- Augean
- backbreaking
- challenging
- demanding
- difficult
- effortful
- exacting
- formidable
- grueling
- gruelling
- hard
- heavy
- hellacious
- killer
- laborious
- moiling
- murderous
- pick-and-shovel
- rigorous
- rough
- rugged
- severe
- stiff
- strenuous
- sweaty
- tall
- testing
- toilsome
- tough
- uphill
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Word History
First Known Use
1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1
herculean
adjective
1
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort the herculean task of grading 60 student essays over one weekend Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- difficult
- challenging
- formidable
- tough
- rigorous
- hard
- demanding
- arduous
- complicated
- strenuous
- heavy
- laborious
- effortful
- backbreaking
- grueling
- exhausting
- rough
- toilsome
- rugged
- severe
- testing
- exacting
- sweaty
- murderous
- intricate
- uphill
- gruelling
- tall
- painful
- hellacious
- complex
- serious
- killer
- stiff
- elusive
- annoying
- onerous
- problematic
- tricky
- moiling
- involved
- grim
- stressful
- stubborn
- brutal
- irksome
- Augean
- taxing
- labored
- problematical
- abstruse
- thorny
- troublesome
- oppressive
- bruising
- burdensome
- knotty
- pick-and-shovel
- trying
- abstract
- recondite
- tight
- hairy
- vexatious
- stringent
- ticklish
- insoluble
- opaque
- bothersome
- strict
- spiny
- inhuman
- grievous
- cruel
- distressing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- easy
- simple
- effortless
- doable
- achievable
- light
- mindless
- undemanding
- soft
- facile
- cheap
- uncomplicated
- clear
- elementary
- manageable
- smooth
- gentle
- painless
- soothing
- comforting
- friendly
- relaxed
- accessible
- idiotproof
- user-friendly
2
as in enormous
unusually large a herculean banquet table that took eight men to lift it Synonyms & Similar Words
- enormous
- tremendous
- huge
- gigantic
- vast
- massive
- colossal
- mammoth
- giant
- immense
- monumental
- titanic
- astronomical
- monstrous
- mighty
- gargantuan
- mountainous
- bumper
- prodigious
- big
- heroic
- monster
- sizable
- great
- humongous
- astronomic
- elephantine
- grand
- oceanic
- mega
- considerable
- super
- cosmic
- formidable
- oversize
- humungous
- heroical
- planetary
- cyclopean
- whopping
- leviathan
- substantial
- pharaonic
- whacking
- galactic
- gigantesque
- vasty
- staggering
- Brobdingnagian
- good
- majestic
- jumbo
- oversized
- major
- handsome
- extensive
- supersized
- cosmical
- walloping
- hefty
- stupendous
- overwhelming
- voluminous
- king-sized
- supersize
- imposing
- hulking
- outsize
- Himalayan
- super-duper
- goodly
- bulky
- king-size
- tidy
- grandiose
- gross
- infinite
- lofty
- outsized
- overgrown
- august
- sizeable
- largish
- immeasurable
- towering
- monolithic
- cavernous
- boundless
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- minuscule
- infinitesimal
- tiny
- diminutive
- microscopic
- microscopical
- bitty
- puny
- little bitty
- wee
- teensy
- miniature
- micro
- teeny
- small
- pygmy
- bantam
- midget
- pocket
- minute
- smallish
- little
- undersized
- undersize
- petite
- teeny-weeny
- teensy-weensy
- mini
- Lilliputian
- microminiature
- dwarfish
- dinky
- pint-sized
- pint-size
- half-pint