adjective

laborious

luh-BOR-ee-uhs/ləˈbɔːriəs/

Requiring or showing much effort and time.

Placing hundreds of tiny mosaic tiles is laborious work requiring patience and care.

Adult painstakingly lays hundreds of small mosaic tiles, long detailed effort.

Etymology

Laborious characterizes something by toil. It first described hard-working people in English, then also described tasks that demand much work—the effort shifted from the worker to the job.

In context

AskHistorians56:17

But it does get emotionally exhausting. It's laborious work, especially when you're in a situation where you might be one of the few people

Indigenous Histories Disrupting Yours: Sovereignties, History, and Power

More examples

Sorting these records by hand is laborious work.
We face a laborious climb up the steep trail.
His slow, laborious handwriting shows how hard he is trying.

Forms

laborious · more laborious · most laborious

laboriously adverb — With much effort and time.

laboriousness noun — The quality of requiring much effort.

Similar words

arduous: Emphasizes difficulty and exertion, often in physically demanding tasks.
tedious: Emphasizes boredom and repetition rather than the effort required.
painstaking: Emphasizes meticulous care and attention rather than sheer effort.