DRUDGERY Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

drudgery

noun

ˈdrəj-rē

Definition of drudgery

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

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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

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 drudgery Fuller’s ideas are hard to summarize, but always seem to reach toward a utopian vision of escaping the drudgery of everyday life. — Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026 Aesthetic experiences were here not reserved for museums or the elite, but folded in along with daily drudgeries. — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 Aug. 2026 In an interview with Fortune, Kopp described the company’s mission as freeing CFOs from the drudgery that keeps them chained to spreadsheets long after everyone else has logged off. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026 Enduring drudgery requires discipline, Bronin owns the patent on that. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for drudgery

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drudgery

Noun

To close deals, some US homebuilders are resorting to price cuts and mortgage rate buy downs to attract buyers, squeezing profit margins that are already compressed by high raw material, labor, and financing expenses.

— , CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
Ownership is bringing an institutional balance sheet to a labor fight.

— Chris Koras, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of labor

Noun

For decades, the European Union has led the world in implementing policies designed to cut emissions, creating the world’s most important price on carbon and crafting the rules of the road for a wide range of regulatory efforts.

— Justin Worland, Time, 3 Oct. 2026
Pan, a pediatrician, made national headlines while in the Legislature for leading California’s efforts to enact strict school vaccine laws.

— Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of effort

Noun

Genetic analyses, such as those used in the new Jefferson study, can help restore connections that were lost because of slavery, Harney added.

— Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
In New England, the first act was to steal our corn and acorns and beans in 1620 and to torch our villages with men, women, and children inside and to sell the survivors into slavery.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of slavery

Noun

But Haslem was dripping sweat after the Heat’s training camp practices this week at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
New Atlas recently covered an experimental smart ring developed at UC San Diego that goes beyond optical sensing entirely, analysing sweat for biomarkers including glucose and ketones.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of sweat

Noun

In practical terms, the study suggests a preference for agentic AI to simplify drudge work and logistics, such as narrowing choices or suggesting better options, rather than taking full control of emotionally loaded or high-complexity decisions.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026
Although free labor can help a candidate win, volunteers are also seen as a source of risk, best restricted to such drudge work as phone banking or door knocking.

— Charles Duhigg, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

Definition of drudge

Noun

But the first month of the season was a grind for the defending Big 12 champions.

— ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Fewer moving parts generally means fewer things to fix, which matters most during the flight-hour-heavy grind of pilot training, exactly the phase where costs pile up fastest.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of grind

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“Drudgery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drudgery. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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