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tedious

tedious

87 4.4
Boring and repetitive, making you feel mentally tired
  • adjective
  • /ˈtiːdiəs/
translation icon : tedioso
  • Some people find cleaning the house to be a tedious chore.
  • a tedious task
  • a tedious process
  • tedious work

Most of what we do is tedious, time consuming.

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Examples

  • "Looking at many different conditions used to be tedious and imprecise work," says Weiss.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Our good constable doesn't seem to realize that scientific investigation is a slow and tedious process.

  • And if all of this seems rather tedious, then it very much is.

  • As you can probably guess, it's an extremely tedious process.

  • The bad news is that is super tedious and actually would take years.

  • Tomorrow and all your remaining days will be exactly like today, a tedious collection of hours.

  • This was extremely tedious to do and took ages.

  • Collecting draft data under a wide range of field conditions is a tedious and time-consuming job.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The early afternoon is spent in chambers going through the tedious process of picking jurors.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • During the days, her life was filled with tedious chores and the long preparation of wedding items.

    Fiction book (1995)

Synonyms

boring
vstedious
721 1.0

Not interesting and making you feel tired or impatient

adds the idea of monotony causing deeper mental weariness
dull
vstedious
182 1.3

Not interesting or lively

adds the sense that the boredom is prolonged and mentally wearing
dreary
vstedious
44 3.8

A gloomy, boring time that makes you feel sad or tired

focuses more on boredom and sameness that tires the mind rather than gloom
tiresome
vstedious
37 4.1

Making you bored, annoyed, or mentally tired

focuses more on general boredom and monotony causing tiredness
banal
vstedious
21 7.2

Used so often that it feels boring

focuses on monotony that makes one mentally tired rather than just unoriginality
uninteresting
vstedious
20 1.4

Not exciting and likely to make people bored

points to prolonged monotony that leads to mental weariness
drawn-out
vstedious
15 4.6

Lasting longer than needed and feeling tiring

focuses on boredom caused by monotony rather than just length
mind-numbing
vstedious
  • Informal
14 6.5

So boring that you stop paying attention

expresses boredom from sameness leading to mental fatigue rather than numbness
monotonous
vstedious
14 5.3

Something that is boring because it has no variety

is about boredom and sameness that causes mental weariness
interminable
vstedious
13 7.5

Lasting a very long time and making you bored or annoyed

is about boredom from sameness rather than only long duration
ponderous
vstedious
9 7.9

Slow and heavy in movement or speech and often boring

centers on boring sameness that specifically causes mental weariness
humdrum
vstedious
9 6.5

Not exciting and having little variety

stresses boring sameness that specifically causes mental fatigue
uninspiring
vstedious
7 3.5

Not interesting or exciting

specifically highlights monotony that leads to mental weariness
repetitious
vstedious
6 5.1

Showing the same thing again and again in a boring way

is broader, stressing any boring sameness that causes weariness
irksome
vstedious
6 7.4

Making you feel annoyed or bored

leans more toward causing mental weariness through monotonous boredom
ho-hum
vstedious
5 8.1

Not interesting and making you feel bored

describes boredom from sameness that leads to mental fatigue
unexciting
vstedious
3 3.2

Not interesting or exciting

emphasizes monotony that specifically produces mental fatigue
wearisome
vstedious
2 7.0

Makes you feel tired or bored because it is repetitive

highlights boredom through sameness that produces mental fatigue
deadening
vstedious
1 6.9

Making something feel very dull and boring

is specifically about boredom and sameness that tires the mind
platitudinous
vstedious
1 9.9

Full of old or obvious ideas that seem important

is broader, naming general boredom and monotony that tires the mind
unstimulating
vstedious
5.1

Does not interest, excite, or make people feel energetic

is about boredom from sameness that makes the mind weary
boresome
vstedious
  • Archaic
6.8

Causes people to lose interest because it is dull

adds the idea of sustained monotony that tires mental energy
8.6

Very boring and hard to pay attention to

is the standard term for boring sameness that causes mental fatigue

Antonyms

1.0

Attracting attention because it is new, exciting, or makes you think

1.0

Making people feel very interested and eager

1 3.9

To make someone feel more awake and interested

How Boring

mind-numbing
  • Informal
14 6.5
wearisome
2 7.0
tedious
87 4.4
boring
721 1.0
dull
182 1.3

Surface Forms

tedious positive
tediouser comparative
tediousest superlative

Morphology

tedious = tedium (transparent) = tedium + ous

Formed by the noun 'tedium' plus the regular adjectival suffix '-ous', so the meaning 'causing boredom' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Tedious comes from the old Latin word taedēre, which means 'to be weary' or 'to be bored'. So a tedious task makes you feel tired in your mind, and you can see the same idea in the English word tedium.