Meaning & use
laboriously
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
In a slow, effortful way that takes a lot of work and patience.
Grammar: Describes how an action is done, usually before or after the verb: she laboriously copied the text.
Patterns
- laboriously do something
- laboriously copy something
The monks laboriously copied each page by hand.
He laboriously climbed the last flight of stairs with the heavy boxes.
She laboriously worked through the tax forms, line by line.
adverbnot comparabledisapproving
In a way that feels strained or heavy-handed, as if the effort shows.
Grammar: Often used about writing or speech: he explained the joke laboriously.
Patterns
- laboriously explain something
The narrator laboriously explains every detail of the plot.
He laboriously stretched a simple point into a twenty-minute talk.
The author laboriously describes each room in the house.
Common combinations
- laboriously copy
- Clerks once laboriously copied legal documents by hand.
- laboriously climb
- The old man laboriously climbed the steep path.
- laboriously assemble
- They laboriously assembled the model from thousands of tiny pieces.
- laboriously explain
- She laboriously explained the rules to the new players.
- laboriously slow
- Progress on the translation was laboriously slow.
Synonyms and how they differ
- painstakingly
- Painstakingly stresses great care and attention to detail, while laboriously stresses heavy effort and time.
- arduously
- Arduously suggests difficulty and strain, usually on a hard journey or task, and is a little more formal.
- slowly
- Slowly says only that something is not fast, with no suggestion of hard work.
- strenuously
- Strenuously focuses on vigorous exertion, whereas laboriously focuses on a long, grinding process.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: laboriously or laboratory?
laboriously vs laboratory
A laboratory is a room for scientific work; laboriously describes effortful action and has no link to science.
Practice
Which word best completes the sentence: The students ___ copied the old manuscript, taking three weeks to finish ten pages.
Choose one answer.
Three weeks for ten pages signals slow, hard effort, so laboriously fits. Hastily and effortlessly suggest the opposite, and casually does not imply difficulty.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “laboriously”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.