drudgery

noun

drudg·​ery ˈdrəj-rē 

ˈdrə-jə-rē

plural drudgeries

: dull, irksome, and fatiguing work : uninspiring or menial labor

the drudgery of his job

Synonyms of drudgery

• labor
• effort
• toil
• slavery
• sweat
• drudge
• fatigue
• grind
• pains

Choose the Right Synonym for drudgery

work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind mean activity involving effort or exertion.

work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

Examples of drudgery in a Sentence

He hated the drudgery of his job.

in the “good old days” household servants led lives filled with much drudgery and little pleasure

Recent Examples on the Web

The drudgery is real, even at this income tier, as the Miami Heat wind their way though this western swing of five games in seven nights, including Thursday night’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026

The previous decade included the organizational mayhem of Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the drudgery of Tokyo in 2020, a joyless experience that unfolded in empty venues of a city that had no interest in staging the event as Japan and the rest of the world tried to emerge from the scourge of COVID-19. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2026

For Stroheim, the palaces and playgrounds of the rich are elaborate concealments of the drudgery and the squalor underlying comforts and luxuries—and even the bare necessities of everyday people. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026

If volunteering is drudgery, yuck, who’s going to want to do that? —Bill Hoogterp, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see drudge entry 1

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

drudgery

noun

drudg·​ery ˈdrəj-(ə-)rē 

plural drudgeries

: hard or dull work