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Glite Dictionary
labored

labored

13 6.1
Not natural or smooth and done with effort
  • adjective
  • /ˈleɪbərd/
  • US
: forzado
  • After the long hike, he was left with labored breathing and struggled to catch his breath.

But as her eyes opened, her breathing became laboured.

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Examples

  • The other one that's important to notice is labored breathing or having your heart race when you take even a short walk.

    Dr. Phil

  • Her labored speech made it clear that she was exhausted after delivering the lengthy presentation.

  • The musician's labored movements while playing the piano suggested that he was not quite comfortable with the piece.

Synonyms

heavy
vslabored
200 2.1

Hard to do or understand

is about effort plus awkwardness rather than high intensity
strained
vslabored
36 4.2

Appearing not natural and tense, often like a forced smile

is effortful and difficult but not mainly about tension
laborious
vslabored
9 6.8

A task or process that needs a lot of time and hard work

is effortful and uneven rather than long slow work

Antonyms

natural
426 1.0

Normal and healthy for the body or mind

effortless
28 2.6

Done easily and smoothly without hard work

How Effortful

strained
36 4.2
labored
  • US
13 6.1
awkward
10 2.5

Surface Forms

labored positive
laboured positive

Morphology

labored = labor (semi-transparent) = labor + ed

The meaning of 'labored' as 'not natural or smooth' is a metaphorical extension from 'labor', indicating effort or difficulty.

Etymology

Labored comes from the old Latin verb laborare and the English word labor, both meaning 'work' or 'effort'. So something that is labored feels forced or full of effort rather than easy and natural.