Skip to main content
tiresome

tiresome

37 4.1
Making you bored, annoyed, or mentally tired
  • adjective
  • /ˈtaɪərsəm/
translation icon : tedioso
  • The lengthy meeting was tiresome and left everyone feeling drained.
  • get tiresome
  • become tiresome
  • a little tiresome

Not only are they tiresome to listen to, they can be mean.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Her constant complaining about the weather became increasingly tiresome over the weekend.

  • Listening to the same song on repeat can be quite tiresome after a while.

  • Come on, this is getting tiresome now.

  • Oh, really, this is becoming quite tiresome.

  • - This is growing tiresome.

  • Volunteers often complain of long and tiresome meetings, which sometimes achieve very little.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Farming is difficult and tiresome, and the financial rewards are poor

    Academic text (1995)
  • I find this tiresome, Marion.

  • My mission here is to put to an end the tiresome squabbling between your brother and you.

  • Lady Cunard can be so tiresome.

Synonyms

boring
vstiresome
721 1.0

Not interesting and making you feel tired or impatient

adds a sense of annoyance as well as simple lack of interest
tired
vstiresome
643 4.4

An idea or phrase used so often that it feels boring

also covers direct annoyance and a stronger sense of weariness
dull
vstiresome
182 1.3

Not interesting or lively

also includes a sense of irritation or weariness beyond mere dullness
exhausting
vstiresome
92 3.2

To make you feel very tired

relates more to boredom and mental annoyance than strong physical tiredness
tedious
vstiresome
87 4.4

Boring and repetitive, making you feel mentally tired

is about causing boredom or annoyance and general mental fatigue
irritating
vstiresome
80 2.9

Making someone feel annoyed or impatient

is broader and includes both boredom and mild irritation causing weariness
tiring
vstiresome
25 1.0

Making you feel tired after a lot of activity

focuses more on mental boredom and annoyance than physical fatigue
maddening
vstiresome
22 5.3

Very annoying and hard to bear

is milder, covering boredom and annoyance without extreme anger
uninteresting
vstiresome
20 1.4

Not exciting and likely to make people bored

places more weight on irritation and mental fatigue as well
drawn-out
vstiresome
15 4.6

Lasting longer than needed and feeling tiring

is about causing boredom and irritation even in shorter contexts
mind-numbing
vstiresome
  • Informal
14 6.5

So boring that you stop paying attention

includes boredom and irritation more broadly, not only extreme dullness
monotonous
vstiresome
14 5.3

Something that is boring because it has no variety

covers repetition effects plus a sense of annoyance or weariness
humdrum
vstiresome
9 6.5

Not exciting and having little variety

is similar but also highlights brief annoyance as part of tiredness
uninspiring
vstiresome
7 3.5

Not interesting or exciting

is broader, also meaning it annoys or mentally wears people down
irksome
vstiresome
6 7.4

Making you feel annoyed or bored

leans more toward general boredom and mental tiredness than pure annoyance
ho-hum
vstiresome
5 8.1

Not interesting and making you feel bored

is the general idea of boredom and irritation without only ordinariness
unexciting
vstiresome
3 3.2

Not interesting or exciting

stresses both boredom and the slight irritation that tires the mind
wearisome
vstiresome
2 7.0

Makes you feel tired or bored because it is repetitive

covers both boredom and mild annoyance rather than only repetition
deadening
vstiresome
1 6.9

Making something feel very dull and boring

includes boredom and irritation as well as causing general mental fatigue
wearying
vstiresome
1 5.4

Making you feel tired and worn out

focuses more on boredom and annoyance than on sheer tiredness
unentertaining
vstiresome
4.5

Not interesting to watch, read or listen to

adds that it also causes annoyance or a weary feeling
boresome
vstiresome
  • Archaic
6.8

Causes people to lose interest because it is dull

adds a mild sense of annoyance and mental fatigue beyond boredom

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

tedious
87 4.4
boring
721 1.0
tiresome
37 4.1
dull
182 1.3
uninteresting
20 1.4

Surface Forms

tiresome positive
tiresomer comparative
tiresomest superlative

Morphology

tiresome = tire (transparent) = tire + some

The adjective is directly formed from 'tire' + the productive suffix '-some' meaning 'causing', so its meaning 'causing weariness or annoyance' is derivable.

Etymology

Tiresome comes from the verb tire, meaning 'to make tired', plus the ending -some, which means 'full of' or 'causing'. So, something tiresome makes you feel tired, bored, or annoyed.