taxing

5 6.8

Needing a lot of physical or mental effort

adjective
/ˈtæksɪŋ/

: agotador

Taking care of elderly relatives can be quite taxing, requiring both physical effort and emotional endurance.
cognitively taxing
more taxing
too taxing

It should be called multi taxing because it taxes your brain and you get fatigued.

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Examples

Crossing multiple cultural and political borders is difficult and emotionally taxing, as the ensuing immigration stress can be immense.

Academic text (2013)
Not only was it a physical challenge, it was mentally taxing as well.

Blog text (8)
And at the start I ran it, but it became too taxing on my time.
"Our work is very taxing," he said.

Fiction book (1995)
As you can see, just getting in can be quite taxing.

The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (2007)
Just be sure that the projects are not too taxing.

Academic text (1999)
And so that has been a delightful and sometimes very taxing addition to my life.
As oxygen decreases, physical exertion becomes more taxing.

Thirteen Lives (2022)
I wanted a job that wouldn't be too taxing so I could concentrate on creating artwork to sell.

Blog text (32)
To come to court as a plaintiff or as a defendant is a very taxing and expensive proposition physically, economically, and emotionally.

Academic text (2007)

Synonyms

challenging

vstaxing

183 4.4

Hard to do and needing a lot of effort

is more about causing physical or mental tiredness than testing skill

exhausting

vstaxing

92 3.2

To make you feel very tired

adds that it also requires significant effort or endurance beyond mere tiredness

strenuous

vstaxing

34 4.9

Needing a lot of effort or energy

is similar but covers any hard task causing tiredness rather than just physical strain

grueling

vstaxing

30 7.0

Very hard and tiring, needing a lot of physical effort

is similarly tiring but may be less extreme in exhaustion

arduous

vstaxing

29 7.7

Very difficult to do and needing a lot of effort over a long time

is about tiring difficulty but not necessarily long duration

tiring

vstaxing

25 1.0

Making you feel tired after a lot of activity

is harsher, stressing both difficulty and endurance rather than simple fatigue

onerous

vstaxing

Formal

24 8.1

Causes a lot of work or trouble

is more about tiring effort and endurance than legal or duty burden

burdensome

vstaxing

18 7.1

Causing a lot of extra work or worry

focuses instead on fatigue and sustained effort rather than worry or hardship

straining

vstaxing

1 5.0

Needing a lot of effort and making you very tired

is comparable but describes hard tasks generally, not only near-limit strain

demanding

vstaxing

4.1

Needing a lot of time, effort, or attention

focuses more on causing fatigue and endurance than on skill or time demand

punishing

vstaxing

6.5

Hard to do and leaves you very tired

shares harsh difficulty but is not always meant to punish or cause hardship

Antonyms

easy

∞ 1.0

Not hard to do, understand, or achieve

simple

∞ 1.0

Easy to understand or do

effortless

26 2.6

Done easily and smoothly without hard work

How Demanding

exhausting

92 3.2

strenuous

34 4.9

taxing

5 6.8

challenging

183 4.4

Surface Forms

taxing positive

Morphology

taxing = tax (semi-transparent) = tax + ing

The connection to 'tax' is clear, but the specific meaning of 'demanding' or 'difficult' is not a direct derivation.

Etymology

Taxing comes from the verb tax, which originally meant 'to assess' or 'to charge' money. Because a tax is a kind of burden, something 'taxing' feels like a heavy load on your time or strength, so it means 'demanding' or 'very tiring'.