Do you know the definition of tedious? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word tedious, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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August 1, 2021
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What does the word tedious mean?
According to Collins English Dictionary, the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, and other English dictionaries, the word tedious is an adjective that means boring, frustrating, and often time consuming. The noun form of tedious appears in a couple of different ways formed by suffixes – ness, which makes tediousness, and m, which makes tedium. Something that is tedious has a dullness to it. One can also add the suffix ly to make tediously (adv.). Tedious is three syllables – te-di-ous, and the pronunciation of tedious is ˈtidiəs. This word is used in both British English and American English.
Many different languages also contain words that mean tedious. You may notice that some of these different words look and sound similar to the word tedious. These are called cognates, which are formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. The below list of translations of the word tedious is provided by Word Sense.
- Mandarin: 乏味
- Scottish Gaelic: liosta
- Nynorsk: einsformig, kjedeleg
- Japanese: 退屈
- German: ermüdend, langweilig, langwierig, lästig, mühsam, nervtötend, weitschweifig
- Dutch: saai, langdradig, monotoon
- Danish: kedelig, trættende, triviel
- Esperanto: teda
- Italian: noioso, tedioso, fastidioso, palloso, soporifero (masc.)
- Portuguese: entediante, enfadonho, monótono
- Russian: ну́дный, ску́чный, утоми́тельный
- Catalan: tediós
- Armenian: ձանձրալի, տաղտկալի, հոգնեցուցիչ
- Spanish: tedioso, prolijo (masc.)
- Hungarian: unalmas, fárasztó
- Bokmål: ensformig, langtekkeligkjedelig, traurig
- Swedish: långtråkig, tjatig, enformig
- Irish: liosta, leadránach
- Maori: takeo
- Finnish: pitkäveteinen, ikävä, tylsä, hengetön
- French: fastidieux (masc.), laborieux (masc.)
- Polish: nużący, nudny, żmudny
What is the origin of the word tedious?
According to Etymonline, the word tedious has been used as an adjective since early c15 in Late Middle English. This word comes from the Old French tedieus, and the Late Latin taediosus/Late Latin taediōsus, from the Latin taedium.
What are synonyms and antonyms of the word tedious?
There are many different words that have the same meaning as the word tedious. These are called synonyms, which can be used interchangeably with the word tedious and are useful to know if you are trying to avoid repeating yourself or simply expand your vocabulary. This list of synonyms of tedious is provided by Power Thesaurus.
- lifeless
- banal
- tame
- long-winded
- verbose
- unimaginative
- characterless
- unexciting
- stale
- colorless
- boring
- mind-numbing
- prolix
- flat
- windy
- unvaried
- humdrum
- tiresome
- vapid
- uninspired
- bland
- irksome
- uninspiring
- uninteresting
- mundane
- deadening
- jejune
- heavy
- stodgy
- wearying
- pedestrian
- tiring
- blah
- wordy
- monotonous
- prosaic
- wearisome
- dull
- insipid
- arid
- lackluster
- drab
- uneventful
- repetitive
- dry
- ponderous
- ho-hum
- dreary
- slow
- soporific
- prolixity
There are also many different words that mean the opposite of the word tedious. These are called antonyms, which are also useful to know if you’re trying to expand your vocabulary. This list of antonyms of tedious is also provided by Power Thesaurus.
- attractive
- thrilling
- thought-provoking
- delicious
- romantic
- stimulating
- pretty
- concise
- galvanizing
- charming
- engaging
- entrancing
- entertaining
- grateful
- diverting
- fascinating
- pleasant
- flirty
- astonishing
- enchanting
- awesome
- fabulous
- pleasing
- marvelous
- inspiring
- exciting
- absorbing
- intriguing
- groundbreaking
- wonderful
- electrifying
- exhilarating
- animating
- interesting
- engrossing
- arresting
- delightful
- astounding
- breathtaking
- good
- amusing
- captivating
- gripping
- fun
- lively
- eye-opening
- amazing
- riveting
- alluring
- enthralling
How can the word tedious be used in a sentence?
Tedious (adj.) can be used in many different ways in many different sentences. Using words in a sentence is a great way to memorize their definitions. You can also try making flashcards or quizzes to test your knowledge. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today – below are several examples of tedious to get you started.
He was shocked when the boring five-paragraph essay he did tedious research on won first place in the essay contest at Princeton University. After all, this was only a rough draft – he spent too much time on his outlines and ran out of time to write the paper and found them to be quite wordy editorials.
The workers were annoyed at the ban on automatic labeling and the heavy emphasis placed on manual labeling. They found these ineffective instructional methods tedious and indicative of dull performance, and it caused a deadening effect of some routine tasks.
The artificial intelligence engine handled the tedium of creating the high-quality digital models and running the equivalent of a visual Google search, a recent iteration of the unreal engine that creates a software map of the entire planet.
She nearly fell asleep during the boring evening at the party. It was full of tedious conversations with uninteresting people about people’s dreams, and she felt it was exhausting by reason of length. The words that came out of peoples mouths seemed to drag on for hours.
The ho-hum speaker at intermission made the dull play seem to go on for even longer. I couldn’t handle the proceedings much longer. I love Mark Twain, but this adaptation and performance was tedious at best and is causing me great mental weariness.
She wondered if the newspapers of the day were excited when typing was invented. She imagined people spent tedious days completing irksome task after task for the writing of long letters. If there were any wordy disputes, did the transcriber have to start over? How tedious.
The tedious search for the part under the car left the truckers weary. The sight of the brothers was not pretty when they finally found it. The tiresome chirping of a cricket the entire time didn’t help, the little demons.
Overall, the word tedious means dull and tiresome. People often use the word tedious to describe things that are intricate and boring. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today!
Sources:
- Tedious definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
- tedious | Origin and meaning of tedious | Online Etymology Dictionary
- Tedious synonyms – 1 014 Words and Phrases for Tedious | Power Thesaurus
- Tedious antonyms – 554 Opposites of Tedious | Thesaurus
- tedious: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense
