Synonyms of drudgery

drudgery

noun

ˈdrəj-rē 

as in labor

very hard or unpleasant work

in the "good old days" household servants led lives filled with much drudgery and little pleasure

Synonyms & Similar Words

• labor
• effort
• toil
• slavery
• sweat
• drudge
• fatigue
• grind
• pains
• exertion
• struggle
• travail
• moil
• trouble
• responsibility
• job
• donkeywork
• tedium
• duty
• obligation
• chore
• spadework
• treadmill
• routine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rest
• fun
• leisure
• ease
• play
• relaxation
• decompression
• entertainment
• amusement
• recreation
• diversion
• repose
• sport
• idleness
• inertia
• inactivity
• dalliance
• dormancy
• loafing
• inertness
• dallying
• lounging
• goldbricking
• lolling

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun drudgery contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of drudgery are grind, labor, toil, travail, and work. While all these words mean "activity involving effort or exertion," drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

When might grind be a better fit than drudgery?

The synonyms grind and drudgery are sometimes interchangeable, but grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

When is it sensible to use labor instead of drudgery?

While the synonyms labor and drudgery are close in meaning, labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

Where would toil be a reasonable alternative to drudgery?

Although the words toil and drudgery have much in common, toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

In what contexts can travail take the place of drudgery?

The words travail and drudgery can be used in similar contexts, but travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

When would work be a good substitute for drudgery?

In some situations, the words work and drudgery are roughly equivalent. However, work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of drudgery

The bar where everyone knows his name is his refuge from the day-to-day drudgery of his job as an accountant. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025

Venture capitalists speak of a future in which AI agents will sort through the drudgery of daily busywork and free us up to live our best lives. —Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025

And back then, among real art people, fundraising was considered drudgery. —Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025

With this one invention, millions of secretaries would soon be relieved of the drudgery of constant retyping, and the business office would have a boon in productivity almost as profound as the one the typewriter itself had ushered in long before. —Pat Butler, Sportico.com, 16 May 2025