Herculean

adjective

Her·​cu·​le·​an ˌhər-kyə-ˈlē-ən  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. As penance for a madness-induced murder spree (the victims were his family), 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. The feats he accomplished explain how Herculean in the 16th century came to be used for any job or task that’s extremely difficult or calls for enormous strength.

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

Examples of Herculean in a Sentence

the herculean task of grading 60 student essays over one weekend

a herculean banquet table that took eight men to lift it

Word History

First Known Use

1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Herculean

• cerulean

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Kids Definition

herculean

adjective

her·​cu·​le·​an

ˌhər-kyə-ˈlē-ən,

ˌhər-ˈkyü-lē-

1

capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of Hercules

2

often capitalized : of great power, size, or difficulty

a herculean task