DRUDGERY Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

drudgery

noun

ˈdrəj-rē

Definition of drudgery next

as in labor

very hard or unpleasant work in the "good old days" household servants led lives filled with much drudgery and little pleasure

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 This aims to save photo editors from the multi-step drudgery of editing faces. —

PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024 Life itself, with all its toil, drudgery, tragedy, and pain, is weighty enough. —

Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024 Creatives can put energy into defining campaigns, while the marketing team can do the mechanical drudgery of customizing that content for individual markets while still respecting guidelines concerning the brand’s voice, channels and images. —

Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024 Phillips' novel manages to be both a gripping psychological thriller about the isolation of motherhood and an accurate account of the sheer drudgery. —

The Week Us, theweek, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for drudgery

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drudgery

Noun

The two countries approved a new trade deal with Canada, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), that even some free-market advocates saw as an improvement on its predecessor NAFTA due to its enhanced protections for intellectual property and labor rights.

Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
After 28 hours of labor and three days in the hospital, Bryant says the couple had just five minutes as they were being discharged to come up with a name.

Jordan Greene, People.com, 9 Dec. 2024