1
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work
worked like a drudge at a low-paying job that had few benefits
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in drudgery
very hard or unpleasant work
it took hours of pure drudge to sort through the junk in the basement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
factory workers who must drudge all day at repetitive tasks
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of drudge
Paul Taylor, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Freed from drudge work, these workers should be empowered to focus on more creative tasks and problem-solving.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 7 Aug. 2024
Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
While the House drudged through a partisan back-and-forth, top Republicans and Democrats in the Senate hatched a deal.
—Andrew Oxford, azcentral, 24 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for drudge
Noun
But for those who experienced the desperate, dismal drudge of Forest’s three seasons in League One, the third tier of English football, from 2005-08 — and visits to clubs including Yeovil, Carlisle, Tranmere and Hartlepool — there has been a long wait for moments like this.
—Paul Taylor, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Freed from drudge work, these workers should be empowered to focus on more creative tasks and problem-solving.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 7 Aug. 2024
Verb
Firefighters are responding to homes using snowcats and often drudging in by foot with shovels and hoses and digging hydrants out of the snow to extinguish flames, Munsey said.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 3 Mar. 2023
While the House drudged through a partisan back-and-forth, top Republicans and Democrats in the Senate hatched a deal.
—Andrew Oxford, azcentral, 24 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for drudge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drudge
Noun
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But, at large scales, laborers (who themselves are often poorly treated) are often paid by volume and are likely to work as quickly as possible which leads to mistreatment.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
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Maricopa County deputies, after getting 287(g) certified in 2007, carried out 11 immigration sweeps within five months outside a former furniture store in Phoenix that was a popular gathering spot for laborers.—
Rafael Carranza,
ProPublica,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Unlike the confrontational drudgery of couples therapy — and aiming to avoid the confrontational finality of divorce — this approach relies on subterfuge.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
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While analysts have long complained about the drudgery, the rise of AI is now sparking concerns about their job security.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In service jobs, Black workers labored as porters, chauffeurs, and servers; in manufacturing plants, white supremacist pseudoscience was harnessed to justify forcing Black workers to perform the most difficult and dangerous work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
-
The Bears labored much of the rest of the evening.—
Jeff Faraudo,
Mercury News,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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And the policies are projected to have far-ranging effects on most areas of business, including a potential loss of hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers in sectors like information and educational and health services.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
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His focus on worker satisfaction drew loyalty in-house and exasperation from Wall Street.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Smaller efforts popped up in Greenland over the years, but nothing came to fruition.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
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Supporting the Army’s next phase The M-SHORAD Increment 4 effort is a major part of the Army’s broader modernization strategy.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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According to Edwards, Brooke deliberately portrayed Arabella as struggling to adapt to her new home and her Canadian identity.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Oct. 2025
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As the team struggles with grief, Sharon decides to pull Station 42 off active duty entirely, rather than assign a new captain.—
Alamin Yohannes,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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How Tielemans overcame early toils is often used as a source of encouragement by new additions who seem peripheral at first.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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But to borrow Manidis’s framework, the drive to create such a tool conflates useless toil with meaningful labor.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sweet Vincent, written and directed by Ciara Boniface, centers a professional jazz musician reconciling with an old flame during a pivotal performance, both haunted by grief and striving for connection.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
23 Oct. 2025
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The communique said Beijing will strive to improve people’s welfare and the social security system, but did not provide details on how Beijing intends to achieve that or where the funds would come from.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drudge. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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