as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
the book's abstruse subject matter and dense prose make for effortful reading
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Recent Examples of effortful
Sennecke’s effortful shift ultimately sent the Capitals into the Ducks’ end, where Husso stymied Connor McMichael on a breakaway.
—
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 6 Dec. 2025
The film is a mess, opaque in its argument and tiring in its effortful weirdness, and yet in its best moments has a hypnotic pull.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The film’s chief sin is its effortful posture of compassion for the plight of these boys, and those like them in the real world.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
Now, early, effortful gig jobs (like Uber and DoorDash) are on the decline, replaced by low-effort digital side gigs.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 6 Dec. 2025
The film is a mess, opaque in its argument and tiring in its effortful weirdness, and yet in its best moments has a hypnotic pull.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The film’s chief sin is its effortful posture of compassion for the plight of these boys, and those like them in the real world.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
Now, early, effortful gig jobs (like Uber and DoorDash) are on the decline, replaced by low-effort digital side gigs.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effortful
Adjective
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Business leaders, of course, have their own interests and shareholders to serve, but Democrats can still protect the public interest while giving CEOs a seat at the table to reach pragmatic answers to difficult questions like these.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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Activist groups say hundreds of people have been killed, though the true toll remains difficult to verify due to the internet blackout and tight state controls on information.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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If some species can continue reproducing even under challenging conditions, that resilience could buy ecosystems valuable time.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Much of Shrinking revolves around people going through challenging times and healing through finding love, such as Paul (Harrison Ford) beginning a relationship with his doctor.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Dozens of asylum seekers like her, as well as refugees who passed a rigorous, years-long vetting process before being admitted to the United States, have been arrested in Minnesota in recent weeks, immigration lawyers and advocates say.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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Every small business article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of business products.—
Jasmin Suknanan,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Going through a severe injury is probably the toughest thing an athlete can go through.—
DJ Siddiqi,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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More companies are dialing back flexible work schedules and mandating that employees return to the office part-time or full-time, forcing women into tough situations.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Brooks sat for roughly 10 hours of interviews over five sessions — a demanding schedule for a 99-year-old subject, but one Apatow approached with care.—
Stephen Silver,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Jan. 2026
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The incident, blown out of proportion in his opinion, was, on the contrary, an example of how demanding the crowd can be at Juventus.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Bigger deals are harder to come by because of the current regulatory environment, Konanahalli said.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2026
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Also, the cold weather is forecast to get much worse from Sunday, with temperatures dropping even further and making the time frame for a pause in attacks hard to understand.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Effortful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effortful. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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