Synonym Chooser

How is the word assiduous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of assiduous are busy, diligent, industrious, and sedulous. While all these words mean "actively engaged or occupied," assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application.

assiduous practice

When is it sensible to use busy instead of assiduous?

Although the words busy and assiduous have much in common, busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure.

too busy to spend time with the children

When could diligent be used to replace assiduous?

The words diligent and assiduous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit.

very diligent in her pursuit of a degree

When would industrious be a good substitute for assiduous?

While in some cases nearly identical to assiduous, industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work.

industrious employees

When can sedulous be used instead of assiduous?

The meanings of sedulous and assiduous largely overlap; however, sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application.

a sedulous investigation of the murder

Examples of assiduous in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Maestro centers on Cooper’s assiduous show of respect for Bernstein — Cooper meticulously enacts Bernstein’s rise to celebrity while sympathetically balancing his hotshot, wunderkind arrogance with the physical ravages of time. Armond White, National Review, 22 Dec. 2023 Saved Stories The renowned television producer Norman Lear, who died yesterday at 101, pursued his craft with an assiduous fervor throughout his seven decades in the entertainment industry. Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2023 At the heart of the new museum is its 60,000-piece archive, which Armstrong assembled over decades of assiduous record-keeping and tape-recording. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 20 Sep. 2023 China’s censors, usually assiduous about controlling the flow of information on the internet, appear to have done little or nothing to stop the claims of restrictions, first reported in The Wall Street Journal. Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for assiduous 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assiduous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Assiduous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assiduous. Accessed 10 Sep. 2024.

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