1
as in actively
in a manner involving great or constant activity
working laboriously late into the night in order to meet the deadline
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hard
with great effort or determination
the farmer laboriously pruned all season long to produce the finest crop of grapes possible
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of laboriously
There is no need to laboriously clean and sand the walls before priming, per Johnson.
—
Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 29 Dec. 2025
With buckets and mops, Palestinians laboriously scooped water out of their tents.
—Arkansas Online, 12 Dec. 2025
Set in 1970 suburban Massachusetts, Reichardt's take on the heist genre saw O'Connor laboriously heaving art through a hay barn to comedic effect.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 28 Nov. 2025
No, these Warriors are doing something laboriously, painfully joyless.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 27 Nov. 2025
The now 6-2 Patriots started slow, laboriously taking a 9-7 lead into halftime against the Browns.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
The technology is rapidly replacing the old days of crime-scene investigators crafting hand sketches and using tape measures to laboriously take down measurements.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 30 Aug. 2025
Instead of laboriously testing compounds one by one in wet labs or waiting weeks for physics simulations to finish, scientists can now triage molecules digitally at supercomputer scale.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2025
Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 29 Dec. 2025
With buckets and mops, Palestinians laboriously scooped water out of their tents.
—Arkansas Online, 12 Dec. 2025
Set in 1970 suburban Massachusetts, Reichardt's take on the heist genre saw O'Connor laboriously heaving art through a hay barn to comedic effect.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 28 Nov. 2025
No, these Warriors are doing something laboriously, painfully joyless.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 27 Nov. 2025
The now 6-2 Patriots started slow, laboriously taking a 9-7 lead into halftime against the Browns.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
The technology is rapidly replacing the old days of crime-scene investigators crafting hand sketches and using tape measures to laboriously take down measurements.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 30 Aug. 2025
Instead of laboriously testing compounds one by one in wet labs or waiting weeks for physics simulations to finish, scientists can now triage molecules digitally at supercomputer scale.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laboriously
Adverb
-
Step up watering to every week or two while succulents are actively growing.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Hostile foreign regimes actively target our statehouses, universities, technology systems and supply chains, often outside the direct view of Washington.—
February 17,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Elsewhere, stories of economic gloom – from galloping inflation to restaurant closures and the knock-on impact of severe tax increases – describe the many ways in which the prolonged war in Ukraine is now hitting Russians hard in the pocket at home.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The Marshall Tucker Band rocked The Guild in Menlo Park hard for 90 minutes on Friday night, turning in a 14-song performance that was an absolute testament to both the lasting greatness of this South Carolina troupe and the power of Southern rock.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Caregivers — nannies, child care workers, preschool teachers, stay-at-home parents, grandparents who swoop in to help — work diligently behind the scenes.—
Heidi Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Reaching across five hourlong episodes, Peter Hammond’s BBC miniseries diligently translates the novel to the screen, with video soundstage interiors jutting up against celluloid exteriors.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Young people feel this most intensively.—
Stuart A. Spencer,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
In Danbury, as in many cities across the state, our planning and legal staff are working intensively to interpret the new requirements in order to implement them by the July 1 deadline.—
Waleed Albakry,
Hartford Courant,
11 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The first year back from knee reconstruction is a tough one, and by all accounts, Darrisaw beat the timetable projection by arduously and relentlessly working through his rehab.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Dec. 2025
-
The composite record builds subtly and slowly, almost arduously.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
4 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
The announcers need to study intensely, learning details not only about an athlete, but what a particular sport means to the populace of a country halfway around the world.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Here, books that can seem overwhelming—books of dreams, infinity, mysteries—turn out to be intensely accessible, offering so many different ways to read them and think with them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Tanimoto and his brothers, five in all, returned home for lunch to find their father listening intently to the radio.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Daytona Beach News-Journal / Imagn Images Across the diamond, a woman in her 50s listens intently to another instructor’s critique.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Europe’s overreliance on US military tech The US’s F-53 program purposefully limits the changes foreign customers can make to the jet’s software.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
-
One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laboriously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laboriously. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
