arduous

adjective ar·du·ous \ˈär-jə-wəs, -dyu̇-, -jü-əs\

: very difficult

Full Definition of ARDUOUS

a : hard to accomplish or achieve : difficult <years of arduous training>

b : marked by great labor or effort : strenuous <a life of arduous toil — A. C. Cole>

: hard to climb : steep <an arduous path>

— ar·du·ous·ly adverb

— ar·du·ous·ness noun

See arduous defined for English-language learners

See arduous defined for kids

Examples of ARDUOUS

Traveling for several days by train, stagecoach and horseback, they would reach Mariposa Grove, a stand of some 200 ancient giant sequoias, where they would rest before embarking on an arduous descent via 26 switchbacks into the valley. —Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian, July 2008
As yoga classes go, this is not an arduous one, but the students don't know that. —Richard Corliss, Time, 23 Apr. 2001
Women of middling means had the most to gain from increased consumption, for imported goods often reduced their long and arduous labor, especially in making candles and soap or in spinning and weaving cloth. —Alan Taylor, American Colonies, 2000
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Origin of ARDUOUS

Latin arduus high, steep, difficult; akin to Old Irish ard high

First Known Use: 1538

Related to ARDUOUS

Synonyms: hard, Augean, backbreaking, challenging, demanding, difficult, effortful, exacting, formidable, grueling (or gruelling), heavy, hellacious, herculean, killer, laborious, moiling, murderous, pick-and-shovel, rigorous, rough, rugged, severe, stiff, strenuous, sweaty, tall, testing, toilsome, tough, uphill

Antonyms: cheap, easy, effortless, facile, light, mindless, simple, soft, undemanding

Synonym Discussion of ARDUOUS

hard, difficult, arduous mean demanding great exertion or effort. hard implies the opposite of all that is easy <farming is hard work>. difficult implies the presence of obstacles to be surmounted or puzzles to be resolved and suggests the need of skill or courage <the difficult ascent of the mountain>. arduous stresses the need of laborious and persevering exertion <the arduous task of rebuilding>.

ARDUOUSLY Defined for Kids