tedium

noun

te·​di·​um ˈtē-dē-əm 

1

: the quality or state of being tedious : tediousness

also : boredom

2

: a tedious period of time

Synonyms

• blahs
• boredom
• doldrums
• ennui
• listlessness
• restlessness
• weariness

Examples of tedium in a Sentence

The movie was three hours of tedium.

I took a day off to relieve the tedium of work.

Recent Examples on the Web

But this haunted and harrowing psychodrama — based on surviving records from the 18th century, and rooted in the day-to-day tedium of Styrian farm life — has too much respect for its emotionally isolated heroine to frame her unraveling as part of a broader phenomenon. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 June 2024

Bear captures the tedium of servicework and the mood shifts, from love to anger and back again, inherent to sibling relationships. —Anusha Praturu, Vulture, 22 May 2024

Part of Google’s vision at its I/O developer conference this year has involved transforming its Gemini AI chatbot into more of a digital assistant that specializes in dealing with our day-to-day tedium. —Wes Davis, The Verge, 14 May 2024

The twin concepts blossomed during the tedium of the pandemic. —Scott Cacciola, New York Times, 12 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin taedium disgust, irksomeness, from taedēre to disgust, weary

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

tedium

noun

te·​di·​um ˈtēd-ē-əm 

: the quality or state of being tedious : boredom