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
-
Mascherano said his second-half lineup change was a difficult one to make.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The winners said the warmer-than-normal conditions made a challenging course even more difficult.—
Bo Evans,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
According to Hermeus, developing aircraft capable of such speeds remains one of the most challenging areas of aerospace engineering.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Subscribe now Kennedy’s girls basketball team continued to show its growth with freshman Ta’Niya Paul on Tuesday during a challenging Division IV first-round game in the CIF Southern California Regional.—
Dan Albano,
Oc Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
While minimally invasive procedures have improved cardiac care, the heart’s complex anatomy and constant motion require rigorous hands-on training to reduce procedural errors.—
Munis Raza,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Samuels has offered up his own priorities, including safe, academically rigorous and truly integrated schools.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The base model starts at $1,599, while the higher-end Studio Display XDR starts at $3,299 and adds features aimed at more demanding professional use cases, including higher brightness, mini-LED backlighting and a faster refresh rate.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
3 Mar. 2026
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Or in the dancer Mira Nadon, whose body contains a natural shadow, revealing a tension between musical dissonance and the relentlessly demanding and athletic steps she is pushed to perform.—
Jennifer Homans,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Makes for a pretty formidable opponent, especially in your own division.—
Kevin Sherrington
Mar. 6,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
At 38-24 and a half-game ahead of the Lakers, star center Nikola Jokic’s squad is always formidable — and looking to avenge a loss to Redick’s team in their first matchup, 115-107 in a game Jokic didn’t play.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Finales can be tough, given how viewers chime in on social media.—
Yvonne Villarreal,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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With the Royals negotiations collapsing with Kansas, the state may be able to get away with a tougher negotiating position.—
Jack Harvel,
Kansas City Star,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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 7 Mar. 2026.
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