as in labor
very hard or unpleasant work
the donkeywork involved in setting up one's own start-up software firm
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for donkeywork
Noun
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The concerns stem from baseball's history of labor disputes and the significant divide between the league and the MLB Players Association on several economic issues.—
Peter Chawaga,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026 -
The City of Sacramento first renamed its city plaza to Cesar Chavez Plaza in the 1990s to honor the labor leader's lifetime of work.—
Steve Large,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Eco effort Lake George is widely recognized as one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the nation.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
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The firing is sure to trigger even more scrutiny of CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss and her controversial efforts to overhaul the network news division.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Noun
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When the South seceded from the United States in order to maintain slavery as a legal practice, Clemens left behind Hannibal and the steamships.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
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Those marching orders left opponents and free speech advocates in disbelief, wondering how park employees were supposed to put a sunny spin on monuments acknowledging slavery, Jim Crow laws and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Noun
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The record of my thinking is right there in the open, teaching me tolerance for my fumbling, training me not to hide my struggle behind a seamless façade of digital perfection.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
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Last week, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office announced the jail will stop accepting most misdemeanor arrestees beginning July 1, pointing to struggles with the conditions at the jail and struggles dealing with overcrowding.—
Madeline Montgomery,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 35 points and nine assists but wasn’t enough to carry a Thunder team that limped to the finish line, dealing with fatigue and a slew of injuries.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
31 May 2026
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Most adults including pregnant people either have no symptoms or experience mild, flu-like illness such as fever, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, and muscle or joint aches.—
Dr. Megan Yanny,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
Noun
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Day-to-day, sweat, humidity and friction are the routine wear-and-tear concerns.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
28 May 2026
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Meanwhile, young founders are raising triple-digit millions without breaking a sweat.—
Richard Nieva,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
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There’s a certain predictability to the plots in a Taylor Sheridan production — a kind of slow, relentless grind from crisis to crisis, punctuated by occasional eruptions of violence.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
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But that doesn’t change the fact that both players were essential in their own ways to Denver’s survival of the 82-game grind.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
Noun
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Acer was also at pains to point out the large performance differential between the RTX 5070 Ti and the vanilla RTX 5070, which sounds similar.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
29 May 2026
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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz compounded the pains of militia attacks, forcing Iraq to declare force-majeure on foreign-run oil operations and curtail production.—
Nabil Salih,
Time,
26 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Donkeywork.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/donkeywork. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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