as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
dreaded the Augean task of cleaning the bathroom after an overflow of the toilet
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Recent Examples of Augean
Obasanjo’s return to power as a civilian leader was supposed to be an economic and political reset, a cleaning of the Augean stables.
—
Uzodinma Iweala, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022
Uzodinma Iweala, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Augean
Adjective
-
Such claims of penury, however, were difficult to square with certain facts.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Over time, my relationship with my wife has become very difficult.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Without adequate feedback, support and professional development, employees are likely to seek a more challenging environment.—
Ashton Jackson,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Engage your brain through reading and intellectually challenging tasks.—
Rob Williams,
EverydayHealth.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Early analyses have begun to link genes to traits such as drought tolerance and temperature adaptation, but researchers say more rigorous work is needed to confirm those links before they can be used to guide restoration.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors.—
Nicoletta Richardson,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
About 20 international teams with gather at the Swiss Army’s training area, where their robots will be pushed through extreme terrain and realistic military scenarios at one of Europe’s most demanding field trials for unmanned systems.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Apr. 2026
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This is a high-stress, physically demanding profession, and our members are already overworked and underpaid.—
Tara Lynch,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In my view, the key obstacle to creating future generations of nonsmokers is that people do not fully understand how dangerous smoking is and do not realize the formidable influence of the tobacco industry.—
Marie Helweg-Larsen,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Motivated Mars activates your 6th House of Well-being as of today, motivating you to reconfigure routines and direct your formidable focus toward the tasks that truly count.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As the inspirational Moon glides into your 7th House of Allies, your expressive nature invites connection, and your generous spirit lightens tough conversations.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Apr. 2026
-
One factor is that the Highlanders, a Division 3 team, haven’t faced the toughest schedule.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, Republicans lacked the votes to pass anything so their amendments tended to be trollish and toilsome fliers meant to either own the libs or just annoy the legislators.—
Matt Ford,
The New Republic,
9 Aug. 2022
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Though the third quarter was significantly better for Netflix than its previous quarter, the company signaled that there could be toilsome times ahead.—
Natalie Jarvey,
The Hollywood Reporter,
16 Oct. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Augean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Augean. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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