drudgery

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun drudgery contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of drudgery are grind, labor, toil, travail, and work. While all these words mean "activity involving effort or exertion," drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

When might grind be a better fit than drudgery?

The synonyms grind and drudgery are sometimes interchangeable, but grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

When is it sensible to use labor instead of drudgery?

While the synonyms labor and drudgery are close in meaning, labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

Where would toil be a reasonable alternative to drudgery?

Although the words toil and drudgery have much in common, toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

In what contexts can travail take the place of drudgery?

The words travail and drudgery can be used in similar contexts, but travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

When would work be a good substitute for drudgery?

In some situations, the words work and drudgery are roughly equivalent. However, work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drudgery The game seems to speak directly to so many players’ frustration at the size and drudgery in Ubisoft games, as seen in, most recently, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. Tauriq Moosa, The Verge, 31 Aug. 2024 The overwhelming sensation of watching Mumtaz reconcile herself to a life of domestic drudgery in a Punjabi joint family is one of incredulity: Why does her alabaster skin look like it has never been exposed to the subcontinental sun? Hazlitt, 11 Sep. 2024 The others will be condemned to a life of domestic or rural drudgery, like his daughter Ada (Rachele Potrich) and son Dino (Patrick Gardner). Damon Wise, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2024 But Gracey’s war against biopic convention isn’t the massacre its first hour might lead you to hope for, as the film’s pop psychology isn’t at all nuanced enough to sustain the full drudgery of Williams’ downward spiral. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for drudgery 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drudgery
Noun
  • Voters also continued their swing toward tough-on-crime policy by voting to continue some involuntary labor in California.
    Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
  • Operating expenses for the quarter increased to $17.3 million from $16.4 million, primarily due to cash severance costs and lower labor costs allocated to cost of revenue.
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • In a larger effort, Hoskin and colleagues recently assessed the habitat ranges of 55 eastern Australian frog species, including 25 affected by Bd.
    Martin J. Kernan, Discover Magazine, 16 Nov. 2024
  • Two former sales leaders involved in the effort likened it to a drug dealer hooking a user with free samples.
    Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 15 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Life itself, with all its toil, drudgery, tragedy, and pain, is weighty enough.
    Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
  • In addition to being a great way to attract young talent to an agricultural career this is turning out to be a great way to reduce the cost and undesirable toil of hand weeding – particularly in things like leafy vegetable crops.
    Steven Savage, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • After leading a relatively peaceful life as a farmer in northern Africa with his wife, Lucius is forced into slavery and ends up becoming a gladiator like his father.
    Irenie Forshaw, theweek, 13 Nov. 2024
  • Many people believe that slavery in Latin America was a benevolent institution.
    Ana Lucia Araujo / Made by History, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • There are zero signs of sweat beading anywhere on his body.
    Jen Chaney, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2024
  • In the adorable pictures, Wren wears a matching green sweat set, with animals printed along the shirt and the bottom of his pants.
    Hannah Sacks, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Freed from drudge work, these workers should be empowered to focus on more creative tasks and problem-solving.
    Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 7 Aug. 2024
  • Finally, give the drone scouts the drudge work, such as tediously scouring a large area.
    Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 9 July 2024
Noun
  • David believes this is just her exhausted mind playing tricks, attributing it to postpartum depression, stress, and fatigue.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2024
  • The hands-on system truly lowers fatigue over a long day of driving. CHANGE: The brakes The brakes in this tester felt a little soft for a new vehicle and not as progressive as most.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • But following 45 years of head coaching, VanDerveer has been content to enjoy her life away from the day-to-day grind.
    Justice delos Santos, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
  • Patrons could choose from a variety of beans, decide on the grind level and specify the brewing method. 7.
    Jason Richmond, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near drudgery

Cite this Entry

“Drudgery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drudgery. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on drudgery

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