Synonyms of sedulous

sedulous

adjective

ˈse-jə-ləs 

as in diligent

involved in often constant activity

an impressively sedulous suitor, he was constantly sending her flowers and other tokens of his affection

Synonyms & Similar Words

• diligent
• engaged
• busy
• employed
• assiduous
• occupied
• active
• working
• preoccupied
• industrious
• laborious
• bustling
• immersed
• hopping
• absorbed
• tied-up
• concentrating
• focused
• buzzing
• humming
• indefatigable
• tireless
• animated
• engrossed
• operating
• lively
• operative
• functioning
• vigorous
• operational
• vibrant
• flourishing
• astir
• focussed
• energetic
• hardworking
• untiring
• intent
• going
• thriving
• knee-deep
• swamped
• running
• functional
• happening
• living
• alive

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• idle
• unemployed
• free
• inactive
• unoccupied
• latent
• sleepy
• quiescent
• unbusy
• passive
• lifeless
• dormant
• inert
• slow
• asleep
• dull
• dead
• inoperative
• nonoperating

Synonym Chooser

How is the word sedulous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of sedulous are assiduous, busy, diligent, and industrious. While all these words mean "actively engaged or occupied," sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application.

a sedulous investigation of the murder

Where would assiduous be a reasonable alternative to sedulous?

The synonyms assiduous and sedulous are sometimes interchangeable, but assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application.

assiduous practice

When can busy be used instead of sedulous?

The meanings of busy and sedulous largely overlap; however, busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure.

too busy to spend time with the children

When is diligent a more appropriate choice than sedulous?

Although the words diligent and sedulous have much in common, diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit.

very diligent in her pursuit of a degree

In what contexts can industrious take the place of sedulous?

The words industrious and sedulous can be used in similar contexts, but industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work.

industrious employees

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sedulous

Putting festivals like this on stage is clearly just one part of the slow, sedulous work of relationship building and repair. —Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Mar. 2023

Among the advantages that billionaires receive due to their wealth is sedulous defenses by journalists and other camp followers. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2022

The wrong calls on the Truss program reflected a knee-jerk impulse of supply-siders to react to anything even remotely resembling the policies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan with sedulous adoration. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2022

Led by Martin Amis, their ranks included Julian Barnes, Salman Rushdie—and a sedulous outlier named A.N. Wilson. —Brenda Cronin, WSJ, 28 Oct. 2022

Manchin has been a sedulous supporter of the fossil fuel industry. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2022

The skirmish over Arista was the second great battle of Clive’s life, as a sedulous Vanity Fair account of the affair put it. —Amy X. Wang, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2021

One might be tempted to defend this sedulous cultivation of Tom Barrack by Bloomberg and Charlie Rose by asserting that no one on the outside could know the truth of what was going on inside Trump’s brain or the Middle East at the time. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2021

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