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
But that shouldn’t look too effortful, or overly dependent on novelty or shallow surrealism.
—
Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effortful
Adjective
-
The Aces scored 26 points off those giveaways, which made things even more difficult on the defense.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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Schiraldi oversaw a particularly difficult period on Rikers.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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But as challenging as these cases can be, the I-Team found the fight for workers' comp when a firefighter is battling cancer can be even more complicated.—
Ginger Allen,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
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Corporations benefit from the best talent without having to hire them, which is challenging and expensive.—
Anis Uzzaman,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
Adjective
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Many have traditionally mischaracterized nursing as feminine and subservient, but becoming an effective nurse in the modern health care landscape requires candidates to pursue complex and rigorous training.—
Nicholas A. Giordano,
STAT,
8 May 2026
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Every cybersecurity article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of cybersecurity products.—
Andreina Rodriguez,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
Adjective
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Chase Meidroth made a shuffle toss to second base for a force out, but the Sox couldn’t complete what would have been a tough double play.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2026
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Our legislators must make some tough decisions; avoiding the issues is not acceptable.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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Inspired by their connection, Étienne contemplates exchanging his lonely existence for one filled with romance, but with a demanding route to cover, starring in a great love story may not be in the cards for the hard-working road warrior.—
Elaina Patton,
IndieWire,
12 May 2026
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Paro International Airport in Bhutan is one of the world’s most technically demanding, with only about 50 certified pilots navigating its mountainous approach.—
Chris Dong,
Travel + Leisure,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
San Diego is still young, especially in the back, and is learning hard MLS lessons in real time.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
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It’s often been hard to be a local sports fan in Connecticut.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Effortful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effortful. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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