1
as in diligent
involved in often constant activity
the volunteers have been commendably laborious in their cleanup of the beach
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
the laborious task of cleaning up the oil spill
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in challenging
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
that report is the product of months of laborious research
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of laborious
Earlier this week, Jack Flaherty worked a laborious top of the first inning.
—
Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Like it or fear it, generative AI has made routine, mundane tasks less laborious.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2025
Creating fractal art by hand would be prohibitively laborious.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 17 Aug. 2025
In many cases, rollovers involve laborious forms and old-fashioned paper checks.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for laborious
Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Like it or fear it, generative AI has made routine, mundane tasks less laborious.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2025
Creating fractal art by hand would be prohibitively laborious.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 17 Aug. 2025
In many cases, rollovers involve laborious forms and old-fashioned paper checks.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for laborious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laborious
Adjective
-
This suspect has now been stopped in his tracks because of the diligent and tenacious work done by investigators at both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The researchers concluded that, especially in relatively dense neighborhoods, even if residents take diligent action in defense of their own houses, that may not matter much if their neighbors don’t.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The Bulls look to be the best team in the Group of Five conferences, while the Gators and coach Billy Napier are now under pressure with a difficult SEC schedule ahead.—
Erick Smith,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Usually the final day of boot camp is most difficult.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
To be sure, the last few years have been more challenging, with Gucci rapidly losing momentum — and Kering’s debt load swelling after an acquisition spree that included Creed, Maui Jim, a 30 percent stake in Valentino, and large chunks of prime real estate.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Ultimately, gig engineering is becoming an attractive but challenging path.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
It's been a busy week for the European technology sector.—
Ryan Browne,
CNBC,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The seven people killed by the explosions are believed to have been working for Devastating Pyrotechnics in the busy days ahead of a string of shows scheduled on and around the Fourth of July.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The 2025 World Beer Awards, known for their rigorous blind tastings, crowned Germany's Wolf Gang, a surprising black IPA from zum WØL BrauArt, as the top IPA.—
Brad Japhe,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The study reports that all test results, including algorithm design, simulations, and flight data, underwent rigorous validation.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Bassini has observed the circuit of influencers and hopefuls who try a more demanding don’t-you-know-who-I-am approach, only to see them get turned away unceremoniously each time.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
-
By contrast, six Black women have journeyed to outer space as astronauts, a job that is equally demanding and risky and for which the odds of being selected are very low.—
Gena Cox,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Entrepreneurs who report higher well-being are more engaged in their businesses, thereby fueling their incentive to grow their ventures.—
Samantha Dewalt,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The majority of commenters agreed that the engaged couple were not in the wrong and that the in-laws were overreacting and being too sensitive.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s a tough dichotomy to bridge, but the new 2025 911 Carrera GTS achieves it brilliantly.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The tough stainless steel loops are reinforced and designed to remain rust-free even after years of use, and a three number combination lock will be easy to remember and difficult to crack.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Laborious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laborious. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share