drudgery

noun

drudg·​ery ˈdrəj-rē 

ˈdrə-jə-rē

plural drudgeries

: dull, irksome, and fatiguing work : uninspiring or menial labor

the drudgery of his job

Synonyms

• donkeywork
• drudge
• fatigue
• grind
• labor
• moil
• slavery
• sweat
• toil
• travail

Choose the Right Synonym for drudgery

work, labor, travail, toil, drudgery, grind mean activity involving effort or exertion.

work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

Examples of drudgery in a Sentence

He hated the drudgery of his job.

in the “good old days” household servants led lives filled with much drudgery and little pleasure

Recent Examples on the Web

In that scenario, Elizabeth was a harsh taskmaster, forcing her younger sibling into a life of drudgery. —Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2025

The Voice became many things to me: a place of drudgery and triumph and endless office politics, a writing school, a talent pool, my crucible and passport. —Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024

Demaree, who was a captain in the U.S. Army and saw such drudgery firsthand, cofounded Onebrief in 2019, getting some traction after convincing lower-rung officers that his product could automate updates to the vast planning process. —David Jeans, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2025

Read more: The Best Mattresses on Amazon Keeping a clean house doesn’t have to be pure drudgery—not with a super lightweight stick vacuum or a Roomba vacuum-mop that does all the heavy lifting for you (which is a whopping 45% off for Prime members right now). —Jessica Kasparian, SELF, 16 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

see drudge entry 1

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

drudgery

noun

drudg·​ery ˈdrəj-(ə-)rē 

plural drudgeries

: hard or dull work