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

Without institutional support, parents are left with a narrative of drudgery—one that equates children with the loss of time, money, and opportunity. —Lauren Hilgers, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025

And there’s a lot of just drudgery, actually, too. —Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 18 Nov. 2025

Such is life in Marthaland, where homemaking tasks are plucked from the realm of everyday drudgery and elevated to a pure pursuit of excellence. —Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025

Despite tech companies’ promises about the capabilities of generative AI, the technology has frequently fallen short of its promoters’ lofty ambitions to streamline drudgery and free up humans to do more creative, fulfilling work. —Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 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