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
The director and star’s efforts may have lifted the German-language edition, but this static, lost-in-translation revamp just comes off as effortful, for little reward.
—
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 Feb. 2025
Sometimes, stars on SNL are born of effortful attention-seeking.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
Igor’s eyes were cloudy, and his chest rattled with effortful breathing.
—Brandon Taylor, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2025
Cronin said that the Ducks’ recent pair of losses to the Kings – the Ducks also lost to their crosstown rivals, 3-2, on Saturday in Ontario – demonstrated some of what his club should emulate in terms of effortful shot-blocking and aggressive forechecking.
—Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 1 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 26 Feb. 2025
Sometimes, stars on SNL are born of effortful attention-seeking.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
Igor’s eyes were cloudy, and his chest rattled with effortful breathing.
—Brandon Taylor, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2025
Cronin said that the Ducks’ recent pair of losses to the Kings – the Ducks also lost to their crosstown rivals, 3-2, on Saturday in Ontario – demonstrated some of what his club should emulate in terms of effortful shot-blocking and aggressive forechecking.
—Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 1 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effortful
Adjective
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James is playing the final year of his contract at $52.6 million, which is a very difficult number for teams to pay.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
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Any pass to Warren Zaire-Emery in midfield is difficult too, due to Kim pushing out of defence.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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As such, piloting an FPV drone is a completely different, entirely more challenging kettle of fish than piloting a standard camera drone.—
Sam Kieldsen,
Wired News,
27 June 2025
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All of these factors combine to make AI adoption incredibly challenging, expensive and time-consuming.—
Dave Friend,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Experimental adoption is fine, as long as it's paired with rigorous due diligence and clearly defined outcomes.—
Stephanie Domas,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
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Hunting was off limits, as was trapping or poisoning, and the listing included rigorous habitat protections.—
Christine Peterson,
Vox,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Even these young players already have major tournament experience — a huge strength given their tough group.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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However, generally speaking, insoluble fiber is commonly found in whole grains, bran, legumes, nuts, seeds, produce skins, and tough vegetables and fruits.—
Mara Santilli,
SELF,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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But the plaintiffs in the case and the Biden administration said the appeals court was wrong to apply that standard and should have instead analyzed it under the most demanding level, strict scrutiny, because the law impedes adults' access to speech protected by the Constitution.—
June 27,
CBS News,
27 June 2025
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Further stymying manufacturing’s renaissance is that plant work isn’t just dirty and physically demanding – albeit less than in prior generations – but also relatively low-paying with limited career prospects.—
Ryan Craig,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Sandoval has received some pay bumps, including a temporary $10,000-a-year bonus for Hawaii special education teachers designed to alleviate shortages in that and other hard-to-staff areas.—
Alia Wong,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2023
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Whether those numbers are an overstatement, or possibly an understatement, is hard to say.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
13 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Effortful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effortful. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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