tedious

1 of 2

adjective

te·​dious ˈtē-dē-əs 

ˈtē-jəs

: tiresome because of length or dullness : boring

a tedious public ceremony

tediously adverb

tediousness noun

tediousness

2 of 2

noun

te·​di·​ous·​ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being tedious

Did you know?

The Long and Uneventful History of Tedious

Words frequently change their meanings, and some even will go from meaning one thing to meaning something almost opposite (such as nice, which in its earliest use meant "lewd, wanton, dissolute"). Tedious is not one of these words; its meanings may have shifted over the centuries, but they have always had something to do with irksome, boring, or overlong things. The word comes from the Latin taedēre, meaning “to disgust or weary.” Tedious has been in use since the 15th century and has been included in hundreds of dictionaries, although perhaps none have rendered so poetic and succinct a definition as Nathaniel Bailey’s entry in his 1756 New Universal Etymological English Dictionary: “Wearisome by continuance.”

Synonyms of tedious

Adjective

• boring
• tiring
• slow
• wearying
• stupid
• dull
• weary
• old
• dusty

Examples of tedious in a Sentence

Adjective

Writing a new spreadsheet or word-processing program these days is a tedious process, like building a skyscraper out of toothpicks. —Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 16 June 1994

Another of their assignments was to slow-fly any plane that had a new engine to break it in; that meant flying the aircraft for a tedious hour-and-a-half as slowly as it would possibly go without falling out of the sky. —Doris Weatherford, American Women and World War II, 1990

From there, it became clear that the deposition was going to be neither as undramatic nor as quotidian, and even tedious, as it at first appeared. —Renata Adler, New Yorker, June 23, 1986

He made a tedious 45-minute speech.

The work is tedious, but it needs to get done.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Financial pressures, worries or a tedious schedule could leave you stressed, but don’t get ahead of yourself. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026

Marketers claim the platforms lighten workflows by automating and streamlining tedious tasks. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026

While some foods contain higher levels than others, focusing solely on those with the highest levels can become tedious and boring in the long run. — Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 1 July 2026

The premise is simple, since tedious work feels lighter with company, and the appeal is rooted in something deeper than productivity. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 26 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Late Latin taediosus, from Latin taedium — see tedium

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tedious

• medius
• intermedius

Kids Definition

tedious

adjective

te·​dious ˈtēd-ē-əs 

ˈtē-jəs

: tiring because of length or dullness : boring

tediously adverb

tediousness noun