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

My daily routine of placing a half dozen or so wagers of $5 to $20 feels more like drudgery than fun. — Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Sep. 2026

Worse, some of us are offloading the drudgery of writing recommendation letters, grant proposals, and even scientific papers to AI. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026

Co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman spun the Peacock series out of the universe of The Office, transferring Oscar Nuñez’s accountant Oscar, as well as the general vibe of workplace drudgery, to a dying Toledo newspaper. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026

Fuller’s ideas are hard to summarize, but always seem to reach toward a utopian vision of escaping the drudgery of everyday life. — Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 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