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
-
Putting in the new chip was more difficult.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The rest will be more difficult.—
Doug Haller,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And that making fairly big changes would be really challenging, not only internally at CBS, but externally for the audience.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Two miles of on-site hiking trails offer challenging routes leading to meditation gardens, hilltop swings, and astonishing views of the Pitons and coastline below.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Experts who study such drugs welcomed rigorous, scientific scrutiny.—
Erika Edwards,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
-
His novels, especially the later ones, were rigorous, ecstatic immensities unlike anything that anticipated them.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That's a tough ask given that this isn't the first time the network's credibility has come into question.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Another tough one, all having to do with writer friends and boundaries (or the lack thereof).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The women farmers say that the demanding nature of the work in the chile pepper fields discourages men.—
Suzanne Nuyen,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
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What follows this war will be narrower, harder, and more demanding.—
Nawaf M. Al-Thani,
semafor.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Larysa, Oleh, and their cousins would scale apple trees and bite into unripe fruit, hard and green.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The best way to do that is to take the least amount of gas (since the tires are hard like hockey pucks and don’t wear out much).—
Jordan Bianchi,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Effortful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effortful. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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