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laborious - 4 dictionary results

la⋅bo⋅ri⋅ous

  [luh-bawr-ee-uhs, -bohr-]
Use laborious in a Sentence
–adjective
1. requiring much work, exertion, or perseverance: a laborious undertaking.
2. characterized by or requiring extreme care and much attention to detail: laborious research.
3. characterized by or exhibiting excessive effort, dullness, and lack of spontaneity; labored: a strained, laborious plot.
4. given to or diligent in work: a careful, laborious craftsman.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L labōriōsus. See labor, -ious

Related forms:
la⋅bo⋅ri⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
la⋅bo⋅ri⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. toilsome, arduous, onerous, burdensome, difficult, hard, tiresome, wearisome, fatiguing. 4. hardworking, industrious, assiduous, sedulous, painstaking.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To laborious
la·bo·ri·ous   (lə-bôr'ē-əs, -bōr'-)   
adj.  
  1. Marked by or requiring long, hard work: spent many laborious hours on the project.
  2. Hard-working; industrious.

[Middle English, from Old French laborieux, from Latin labōriōsus, from labor, labor.]
la·bo'ri·ous·ly adv., la·bo'ri·ous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Laborious

La*bo"ri*ous\, a. [L. laboriosus,fr. labor labor: cf. F. laborieux.]

1. Requiring labor, perseverance, or sacrifices; toilsome; tiresome.

Dost thou love watchings, abstinence, or toil, Laborious virtues all ? Learn these from Cato. --Addison.

2. Devoted to labor; diligent; industrious; as, a laborious mechanic. -- La*bo"ri*ous*ly, adv. -- La*bo"ri*ous*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : laborious
Spanish: laborioso,
German: mühsam,
Japanese: 骨の折れる
More Translations »

laborious 
1390, "hard-working," from O.Fr. laborieux (12c.), from L. laboriosus "toilsome, wearisome, troublesome," from labor. Meaning "costing much labor" is from 1555.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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