Meaning & use

arduous

adjective·Academic

Requiring great effort, energy, or endurance; extremely difficult and exhausting to complete.

See it in a sentence

Climbing the mountain in a single day proved to be an arduous challenge.

The refugees endured an arduous journey across the desert with little water.

A note on using this word

Arduous emphasizes sustained physical or mental effort over time, more than difficult, which can describe a single tricky moment.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “arduous”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.