SPADEWORK Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

spadework

noun

Definition of spadework

as in effort

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 spadework These aren’t fads or fancy frameworks, but rather daily spadework that cultivates a culture of collaborative excellence. — Doug Sundheim, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025 But the loss at the Mercedes plants will almost surely slow down the union’s campaign and probably force it to do more spadework to secure the support of workers before seeking to hold elections at other auto plants. — Jack Ewing, New York Times, 17 May 2024 In this peacemaking effort, the United States would have to do almost all the spadework. — Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2024 Early spadework for the new batch of projects also dates back to the City of Cleveland’s 2004 Waterfront District Plan. — Steven Litt, cleveland, 26 Feb. 2022 See All Example Sentences for spadework

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spadework

Noun

Clay did not respond to questions Friday about the status of efforts to recover the money or whether the department is considering legal action.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Sep. 2026
State law bars judges from adding items to the ballot after Tuesday, a tight deadline that could scramble Hanaway’s efforts to overturn the ruling.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of effort

Noun

Extreme mountain climbing has never looked anything but miserable from the distance of a screening room, and The Other Side delivers mightily on all that scraping, straining, gasping toil.

— Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026
The poem is about how our most worthwhile pursuits—things like art, love, and beauty—often seem to demand a measure of toil.

— Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of toil

Noun

Fuller’s ideas are hard to summarize, but always seem to reach toward a utopian vision of escaping the drudgery of everyday life.

— Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026
Aesthetic experiences were here not reserved for museums or the elite, but folded in along with daily drudgeries.

— Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of drudgery

Noun

Chaos fatigue isn’t the only side dish being served with the recent rash of court orders; chaos consequences appear to be on a platter as well.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
West Nile symptoms A full 80% of those infected may not show symptoms, but 20% have flu-like symptoms, such as a fever with headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, rash or fatigue.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of fatigue

Noun

The moment was loosely evocative of Clooney’s recent performance in Jay Kelly, a comedy-drama about the personal travails of a Clooney-esque movie star that culminates with the character receiving a lifetime honor at a swanky Italian film festival.

— Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Given the travails of Bessent, its contents will make interesting reading.

— John Cassidy, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of travail

Noun

What happened next changed the young United States, forcing people to question the line between law — which protected slavery — and justice, which demanded resistance to that law.

— Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
But advocates say that for many Haitians in Springfield, the devices evoke the painful history of shackles worn during slavery.

— Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of slavery

Browse Nearby Words

spades

spadework

spadeworks

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Spadework.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spadework. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of spadework

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

hobnob

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes