as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
modern machinery has significantly eased the backbreaking work of farming
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of backbreaking
The Kings were leading 80-60 at the time and led by as many as 26 in the game, dealing the Blazers’ playoff chase a backbreaking blow.
—
oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2020
Drawing on unprecedented research, Chang shows how these men performed some of the most dangerous, most backbreaking work to build out the railroad from California, yet received virtually no credit for their contributions.
—Chris Fuchs, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2019
Plus, large shovels hold a backbreaking amount of snow.
—James Jackson, Popular Mechanics, 18 Sep. 2019
Spraying fields with pesticides and fertilizers, the drones -- which can cover up to 60 acres a day -- could boost crop yields, save time and make backbreaking field work much easier, according to Bug Away.
—Sarah Lazarus and Dan Tham, CNN, 3 July 2019
See All Example Sentences for backbreaking
oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2020
Drawing on unprecedented research, Chang shows how these men performed some of the most dangerous, most backbreaking work to build out the railroad from California, yet received virtually no credit for their contributions.
—Chris Fuchs, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2019
Plus, large shovels hold a backbreaking amount of snow.
—James Jackson, Popular Mechanics, 18 Sep. 2019
Spraying fields with pesticides and fertilizers, the drones -- which can cover up to 60 acres a day -- could boost crop yields, save time and make backbreaking field work much easier, according to Bug Away.
—Sarah Lazarus and Dan Tham, CNN, 3 July 2019
See All Example Sentences for backbreaking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backbreaking
Adjective
-
Business leaders, of course, have their own interests and shareholders to serve, but Democrats can still protect the public interest while giving CEOs a seat at the table to reach pragmatic answers to difficult questions like these.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Activist groups say hundreds of people have been killed, though the true toll remains difficult to verify due to the internet blackout and tight state controls on information.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
If some species can continue reproducing even under challenging conditions, that resilience could buy ecosystems valuable time.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Much of Shrinking revolves around people going through challenging times and healing through finding love, such as Paul (Harrison Ford) beginning a relationship with his doctor.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The strategy would give OpenAI a direct hardware presence to complement its software and nearly a billion weekly users of ChatGPT, but faces tough competition from entrenched products without deep operating-system integration.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The marketing and positioning of actresses in their roles is tougher than it’s been in recent years because of the insult machinery of man-boy social media and its echoes across society more widely.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Before taking any further action, the city must demand clear, rigorous answers to several critical concerns.—
Sara Lind,
New York Daily News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Scientists, medical experts, policy makers and administrators, along with citizens who care about public health and nuclear energy, can bolster public confidence in nuclear energy by weighing in on this decision with the latest, most rigorous information possible.—
Katy Huff,
Scientific American,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Brooks sat for roughly 10 hours of interviews over five sessions — a demanding schedule for a 99-year-old subject, but one Apatow approached with care.—
Stephen Silver,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The incident, blown out of proportion in his opinion, was, on the contrary, an example of how demanding the crowd can be at Juventus.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Minneapolis — During Januarys here, the days are dark and short, the ground is cold and hard, and the subzero air pierces and cuts.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
-
His characters make cavalier deals with the proverbial devil, even as the costs become harder to ignore.—
Virgie Tovar,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Its Blackwell architecture sets the standard for raw performance, and its software ecosystem with CUDA remains a formidable competitive edge.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
But even a full-bodied brass section and some formidable multi-part harmonies can’t stop the song from fading into a 18-track lineup of anemic lounge-funk flips with near-uniform tempos.—
Hattie Lindert,
Pitchfork,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The panel picks up on the baseball-heavy clues, and guesses accordingly.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Jan. 2026
-
While success has become familiar, his most recent championship in Texas carried a heavier meaning.—
Nina Burns,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backbreaking. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
