1
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
the herculean task of grading 60 student essays over one weekend
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2
as in enormous
unusually large
a herculean banquet table that took eight men to lift it
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Recent Examples of herculean
Ryan’s effort comes a day after Twins rookie Mike Paredes bailed out the entire pitching staff with a herculean effort in his major-league debut.
—
Dan Hayes, New York Times, 2 June 2026
From the get-go, Lonely reintroduces the herculean energy of her pre-Gladie songwriting.
—Tatiana Tenreyro, Pitchfork, 20 Mar. 2026
Now, local officials in multiple states have begun the herculean work of changing the names of locations and holidays, as well as contemplating the fate of monuments and murals that honor Chavez.
—Daniella Silva, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
The local architect Rob Michel, an expert in midcentury preservation, would in turn oversee the project, which grew into a herculean logistical challenge requiring the coordination of some 100 specialists.
—Felix Wagner, Architectural Digest, 27 Feb. 2026
For Paramount, the road ahead will be paved with key management and strategic decisions, as well as a herculean effort to revitalize two media giants that have often struggled to navigate the streaming era.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
But both face a herculean task in catching him, given Malinin’s huge technical advantage over a longer program.
—Dave Skretta, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
While finding a new species in plain sight might seem simple, catching the birds – a relatively common sight in the Galapagos – proved a herculean task.
—Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2026
Yet expert after expert told me that rebooting the country’s oil industry would require a herculean effort.
—Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026
Dan Hayes, New York Times, 2 June 2026
From the get-go, Lonely reintroduces the herculean energy of her pre-Gladie songwriting.
—Tatiana Tenreyro, Pitchfork, 20 Mar. 2026
Now, local officials in multiple states have begun the herculean work of changing the names of locations and holidays, as well as contemplating the fate of monuments and murals that honor Chavez.
—Daniella Silva, NBC news, 19 Mar. 2026
The local architect Rob Michel, an expert in midcentury preservation, would in turn oversee the project, which grew into a herculean logistical challenge requiring the coordination of some 100 specialists.
—Felix Wagner, Architectural Digest, 27 Feb. 2026
For Paramount, the road ahead will be paved with key management and strategic decisions, as well as a herculean effort to revitalize two media giants that have often struggled to navigate the streaming era.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
But both face a herculean task in catching him, given Malinin’s huge technical advantage over a longer program.
—Dave Skretta, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
While finding a new species in plain sight might seem simple, catching the birds – a relatively common sight in the Galapagos – proved a herculean task.
—Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2026
Yet expert after expert told me that rebooting the country’s oil industry would require a herculean effort.
—Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for herculean
Adjective
-
The verdict was delivered amid difficult personal circumstances for Mette-Marit, Hoiby’s mother, who needs a lung transplant for pulmonary fibrosis.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
-
Otherwise, those prospects start becoming large contracts that stand more difficult to move or aggregate.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
14 June 2026
Adjective
-
Start small with beaded bookmarks or diamond art magnets, or take on a long-term project with enormous pieces of diamond wall art.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 June 2026
-
And that set off an enormous race, and then of course a trajectory of many labs adopting the technology for all kinds of applications.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Inmates challenging execution methods must suggest an alternative method.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
-
Lee, who relieved fans by hitting his old high notes on night one, sounded even stronger on night two, gleefully tearing into the most challenging corners of their catalog.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
The expectations for the USA are not huge for this tournament – just ask Gary Lineker – but a scintillating performance such as what took place on SoFi Stadium’s turf on Friday night is something that will exhilarate soccer fans and the soccer-curious around the country.—
Jacob Lev,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
Security is also a huge challenge.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
With the when, where and who will play whom at the 2026 World Cup all locked in, how do the groups rank from the easiest to the toughest?—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
12 June 2026
-
Opening a restaurant in downtown Boise is a tough racket.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
But SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI swelled to tremendous sizes thanks to dollars from private investors, including pension funds, companies and rich investors, away from the public market.—
Stan Choe,
Fortune,
13 June 2026
-
Having such a wide variety of on-site entertainment drives tremendous traffic with more than 38 million visits to Yas Island in 2024.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
Adjective
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After another solid season in 2021, injuries and sub-par play eventually led to an exit from the NFL, but Robinson has made a pretty formidable case for a return with his play in his UFL debut campaign.—
Juan Carlos Blanco,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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Studio had some formidable shoes to fill, replacing the eponymous and long-beloved French fine-dining institution that had defined special-occasion fine dining in Laguna Beach for more than twenty years.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Chatter about Donald, 35, has been rampant since last week, when the Rams made another gigantic offseason move by trading for defensive end Myles Garrett.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
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Clearly, that gigantic number signals investors’ confidence in the future growth and profitability of AI.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Herculean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/herculean. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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