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

Waves of them have crashed into communities like these in recent decades — crack, heroin, opioids, now fentanyl, taking shifts filling worlds of tedium and anxiety. —John Branch, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024

Brought to life through campy, surrealist sets and unforgettable cameos, the show takes the viewer through a series of dreamlike vignettes that brilliantly articulate the absurdity and tedium of life under late-capitalism. —Samantha Allen, Them, 20 Nov. 2024

Ti West, who scored double horror hits last year with X and Pearl, commits almost too well to the sightseeing tedium of a typical vacation video. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024

Arteta has avoided the relentless tedium of contract talk. —Amy Lawrence, The Athletic, 25 July 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