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

• 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 future is not about clinging to bureaucratic models but about creating conditions where people can flourish once the drudgery is gone. —John Winsor, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025

Treating cooking like drudgery—another chore to perform—will likely not inspire them to adopt this crucial life skill, one that seems to be going by the wayside in the era of GrubHub and DoorDash. —Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 3 Sep. 2025

Simmons spent the time between minicamp and training camp toiling in Kansas City, working to hit the ground running when the drudgery of camp in St. Joseph began. —Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2025

This erudite and thought-provoking book tackles a dominant issue of the day, and indeed of the last two centuries: whether the forward march of technology promises to free humankind from want and drudgery or instead threatens to enslave and even extinguish human civilization. —Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 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