tedium

noun

te·​di·​um ˈtē-dē-əm 

1

: the quality or state of being tedious : tediousness

also : boredom

2

: a tedious period of time

Synonyms of tedium

• boredom

Examples of tedium in a Sentence

The movie was three hours of tedium.

I took a day off to relieve the tedium of work.

Recent Examples on the Web

Imagine 007 unmanned by a comparable tedium—slumped in a greasy London flat, counting his nicotine patches and waiting for M to call. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026

That tedium could result in companies pushing uninspired and buggy products. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 23 Sep. 2026

This is a filmmaker who simply doesn’t know when to stop, as also evidenced by the film’s bloated 142-minute running time that lets narrative tedium set in. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026

The experience is…less fun, although bad film aficionados know that some level of tedium is inherent to almost all of the most canonical worst movies ever. — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin taedium disgust, irksomeness, from taedēre to disgust, weary

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tedium

• cypripedium
• intermedium
• medium

Kids Definition

tedium

noun

te·​di·​um ˈtēd-ē-əm 

: the quality or state of being tedious : boredom