1
as in laborers
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 labors
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 struggles
to devote serious and sustained effort
factory workers who must drudge all day at repetitive tasks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drudges
Noun
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Around a thousand union laborers were laid off.—
Nick Paumgarten,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026 -
Many employers otherwise perform only superficial efforts at verification of legal status of employees, confident that enforcement agencies will target laborers, not management.—
Federico Peña,
Denver Post,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The image, captured by photographer John Kraus, provided a novel view looking almost directly up and into the rocket's intense exhaust plume as it was shaped and backlit by the furious labors of the Merlin engines.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
18 Feb. 2026
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Strausfeld did teach at Brighton College of Art (later part of Brighton Polytechnic), on the south coast of England, for many years, but the fruits of his labors for the Academy are the cause of his meticulous appeal.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Makio struggles to make space for Asa in her heavily compartmentalized life, while navigating her feelings for her ex-boyfriend Shingo.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
20 Feb. 2026
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But baseball’s membership still struggles with a division between the elite players, who make large sums of money, and everyone else.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Borth and her co-workers quickly identified 11 families at their school alone who were in need of groceries the first week in January.—
Nick Woltman,
Twin Cities,
22 Feb. 2026
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Fast food workers can attest to the fact strange things happen after dark at the drive-thru, and an example played out Friday night at the McDonald’s in Henderson, North Carolina.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Both were premised on the idea of frictionless ease, liberating their users from outmoded toils.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The conceit of narrating a year in one’s life through the toils and sensations of the kitchen is one that many have taken up before.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Sweeney plays Undine Spragg, a fiercely ambitious woman from the Midwest, who strives for the social heights of turn of the century New York.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The Bureau strives to complete all 311 requests within five days.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Your inner lover girl is dying for some time in the sun, for a vacation from your usual drudgeries.—
Steph Koyfman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Jan. 2026
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For others, the online gaming space – from Wordle and chess to blackjack and poker is a welcome respite from the drudgeries of the day.—
Nish Acharya,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Orbán has frequently threatened to scuttle the bloc’s efforts to sanction Moscow over its invasion, and has decried attempts to hit Russia’s energy revenues that help finance the war.—
Justin Spike,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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None of Lauren James or Erin Cuthbert’s long-range efforts went in, but that did not matter.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Drudges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drudges. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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