arduous Hear it!

arduous Definition

ar·du·ous (ärjo̵̅o̅ əs)

adjective

  1. difficult to do; laborious; onerous
  2. using much energy; strenuous
  3. steep; hard to climb

Etymology: L arduus, steep < IE *er(ə)dh-, high, to grow (> L arbor, tree) < base *er-, to set in motion, run

arduous Related Forms

ar·du·ously adverb ar·du·ous·ness noun

arduous Synonyms

arduous

modif.

arduous Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: The heat combined with more than two weeks continuous pulling made the job arduous.
  • find: Mrs Hull worked the night shift herself when she took over the Home and found the work not arduous.

Modifies a noun

  • trek: The twelve day arduous trek to base camp is quite dangerous.
  • journey: From there, the arduous journey into the center of the great desert began.
  • task: Each team then began the arduous task of choosing its drivers from the many letters received.
  • undertaking: This has been an arduous undertaking for applicants, taking up to 40 hours to complete.
  • terrain: Soldiers need to be tested in the most arduous terrain.
  • climb: Lines were rigged to help them make the arduous climb.

Modifying Another Word

  • physically: Prospective applicants are advised that days will be long and hot, and the work physically arduous.
  • extremely: The result is an extremely arduous journey that simply isn't worth taking.
  • somewhat: If you think evangelism is a somewhat arduous task in that environment, you're right.
  • particularly: You also need to bear in mind any particularly arduous hills, tight bends or islands, speed bumps or narrow lanes.
  • fairly: The three of us traveled out by train; a fairly arduous 30-hour journey without any real sleep.
  • too: Not too arduous a task for a Sunday morning.

Infinitive complement

get: This makes it evermore arduous to get cover for research that involves any type of human risk.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: For more than 1000 years the Church has labored in this place, and her work becomes more arduous as time goes on.
  • make: At first, these tasks were made arduous by the lack of tools.
  • seem: The crawls didn't seem too arduous really and the squeezes not ridiculously tight.
  • prove: Mixing up the different ingredients and applying them doesn't prove too arduous.

Preposition: of

condition: They undergo enormous strains and in the most arduous of conditions with no maintenance or lubrication.

Browse dictionary entries near arduous

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