First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
tedious
adjective te·dious \ˈtē-dē-əs, ˈtē-jəs\
: boring and too slow or long
Full Definition of TEDIOUS
— te·dious·ly adverb
— te·dious·ness noun
See tedious defined for English-language learners
See tedious defined for kids
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Examples of TEDIOUS
- Writing a new spreadsheet or word-processing program these days is a tedious process, like building a skyscraper out of toothpicks. —Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 16 June 1994
- Another of their assignments was to slow-fly any plane that had a new engine to break it in; that meant flying the aircraft for a tedious hour-and-a-half as slowly as it would possibly go without falling out of the sky. —Doris Weatherford, American Women and World War II, 1990
- From there, it became clear that the deposition was going to be neither as undramatic nor as quotidian, and even tedious, as it at first appeared. —Renata Adler, New Yorker, June 23, 1986
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Origin of TEDIOUS
Middle English, from Late Latin taediosus, from Latin taedium (see tedium)
Related to TEDIOUS
- Synonyms
- arid, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, boring, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying
- Antonyms
- absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting
TEDIOUS Defined for Kids
tedious
adjective te·dious \ˈtē-dē-əs, ˈtē-jəs\
Definition of TEDIOUS for Kids
: tiring because of length or dullness <a tedious explanation> <a tedious job>
— te·dious·ly adverb
— te·dious·ness noun
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