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

• donkeywork
• drudge
• fatigue
• grind
• labor
• moil
• slavery
• sweat
• toil
• travail

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

With this one invention, millions of secretaries would soon be relieved of the drudgery of constant retyping, and the business office would have a boon in productivity almost as profound as the one the typewriter itself had ushered in long before. —Pat Butler, Sportico.com, 16 May 2025

But her return to the drudgery of chemotherapy several days later was a difficult comedown. —Katherine Rosman, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Digital tools empower people to focus less on operational drudgery and more on relationship-building—a dynamic any brand in retail, travel, or hospitality should be studying closely. —Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

Each time he’s killed testing the alien atmosphere for viruses or absorbing massive amounts of radiation on a space walk, he’s resurrected in a printing machine in what amounts to a hilariously terrible immortal drudgery. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025

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