Synonyms of drudge

drudge 1 of 2

noun

1

as in laborer

a person who does very hard or dull work

worked like a drudge at a low-paying job that had few benefits

Synonyms & Similar Words

• laborer
• worker
• slave
• peon
• toiler
• plugger
• grunt
• drudger
• dogsbody
• foot soldier
• slogger
• grubber
• drone
• grub
• serf
• workhorse

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shirker
• idler
• slug
• loafer
• sluggard
• slouch
• goldbrick
• lazybones

2

as in drudgery

very hard or unpleasant work

it took hours of pure drudge to sort through the junk in the basement

Synonyms & Similar Words

• drudgery
• labor
• effort
• toil
• sweat
• grind
• slavery
• fatigue
• pains
• exertion
• travail
• struggle
• moil
• job
• responsibility
• trouble
• donkeywork
• duty
• obligation
• tedium
• chore
• spadework
• treadmill
• routine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rest
• fun
• leisure
• play
• ease
• amusement
• relaxation
• entertainment
• diversion
• decompression
• recreation
• repose
• sport
• idleness
• inertia
• dalliance
• inactivity
• loafing
• dormancy
• inertness
• goldbricking
• dallying
• lounging
• lolling

drudge

2 of 2

verb

ˈdrəj 

as in to labor

to devote serious and sustained effort

factory workers who must drudge all day at repetitive tasks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• labor
• struggle
• strive
• work
• toil
• endeavor
• slave
• try
• plow
• sweat
• tug
• hustle
• plod
• travail
• slog
• dig (away)
• strain
• moil
• plug
• beaver (away)
• grub
• bang away
• hump
• fag
• apply (oneself)
• peg (away)
• sweat blood
• essay
• buckle (down)
• attack
• pitch in
• exercise
• exert
• trudge
• hammer (away)
• scratch
• overwork
• knuckle down
• wade
• eke out
• drive
• dig in
• grind (out)
• overexert
• put out
• scrabble

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• break
• ease (up)
• bum
• shirk
• slacken
• idle
• let up
• lounge
• rest
• hang (around or out)
• chill
• slack (off)
• loaf
• laze
• goof (off)
• hack (around)
• bask
• relax
• repose
• unwind
• dally
• play
• loll
• goldbrick
• trifle
• fool around
• hang
• veg out
• dabble
• footle
• dillydally
• goof (around)
• mess around
• doodle
• monkey (around)
• hang about
• putter (around)
• potter (around)
• fribble

Examples of drudge in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Another recent survey, by the BCG Henderson Institute, showed that office workers spend an average of 25% of their time on administrative drudge work. —Deborah Lovich, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023

There, software and robotics automate much of the drudge work of organism design. —Elie Dolgin, IEEE Spectrum, 31 May 2018

Verb

While the House drudged through a partisan back-and-forth, top Republicans and Democrats in the Senate hatched a deal. —Andrew Oxford, azcentral, 24 Mar. 2020

As ambitious Jim heads east, Ántonia is a disgraced, unmarried mother drudging on the farm for a churlish brother. —Robert Garnett, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2018