1
as in diligent
involved in often constant activity
the volunteers have been commendably laborious in their cleanup of the beach
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
the laborious task of cleaning up the oil spill
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in challenging
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
that report is the product of months of laborious research
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of laborious
Drying clothing could take days and ironing, well, ironing is still laborious.
—
Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 9 Jan. 2026
Governing is a long and laborious process, requiring study, deliberation and the weighing of competing forces.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
The issue at hand is that people often construe exercise as being laborious, tedious, and just not especially appealing.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Governing is a long and laborious process, requiring study, deliberation and the weighing of competing forces.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laborious
Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 9 Jan. 2026
Governing is a long and laborious process, requiring study, deliberation and the weighing of competing forces.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
The issue at hand is that people often construe exercise as being laborious, tedious, and just not especially appealing.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Governing is a long and laborious process, requiring study, deliberation and the weighing of competing forces.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for laborious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laborious
Adjective
-
The Trojans were equally diligent on the other end of the court.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Thrust into the job in 2022, Mazzulla has proven to be one of the most prepared and diligent head coaches in sports.—
The Athletic Peak staff,
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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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This can feel challenging and heart-wrenching.—
Cori Sears,
The Spruce,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Nevertheless, holding serve with a 2-2-0 record on a challenging four-game trip isn’t the end of the world for the Sharks, who entered Tuesday in third place in the Pacific Division.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Visiting the restaurant has become an expression of the purest form of Panthers fandom — and that’s helped make this week quite busy ahead of the Panthers’ first home playoff game in 10 years.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Jan. 2026
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Those who remain are concentrated in Venezuela’s cities, including its capital, Caracas, where the street market in the Catia neighborhood once was so busy that shoppers bumped into one another and dodged oncoming traffic.—
Regina Garcia Cano,
Fortune,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The strategy would give OpenAI a direct hardware presence to complement its software and nearly a billion weekly users of ChatGPT, but faces tough competition from entrenched products without deep operating-system integration.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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The marketing and positioning of actresses in their roles is tougher than it’s been in recent years because of the insult machinery of man-boy social media and its echoes across society more widely.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Hospitals across Colorado are urging people to roll up their sleeves and donate blood as supplies drop during one of the most demanding times of the year.—
Tori Mason,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
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Frank Bisignano, who’s head of the Social Security Administration, is the first-ever IRS CEO, and the acting commissioner is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—someone who has another very demanding job.—
Megan Poinski,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Those late audits have caused ongoing comments by engaged residents who are perplexed that year after year the town’s government is not able to provide the same audit the state’s other 168 municipalities complete and submit to the public and the state’s budget office.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
10 Jan. 2026
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Guiliani said her students have been more engaged and focused.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance products.—
Andreina Rodriguez,
CNBC,
12 Jan. 2026
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Denim and cotton can survive in rigorous washing, while silk and wool will need a gentle washing.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laborious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laborious. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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