1
Core quality
Requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
Example
The expedition faced an arduous journey across the plateau.
arduous
/ˈɑːdjuəs/ · AR-joo-usadjective
Requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
Use arduous to express this relationship precisely: requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
What arduous Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
Reconstructing the damaged manuscript was an arduous process.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The team completed the arduous task of checking every record by hand.
Use arduous Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The expedition faced an arduous journey across the plateau.
Reconstructing the damaged manuscript was an arduous process.
The team completed the arduous task of checking every record by hand.
Precision Matters
Arduous overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
arduous
vs.Means requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
strenuous
Means requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
arduous
vs.Means requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
assiduous
Means showing persistent care, attention, and effort.
arduous
vs.Means requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
insurmountable
Means too great or difficult to overcome.
arduous
vs.Means requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
haphazard
Means random, disorganised, and lacking a deliberate method.
Test arduous in Context
The undertaking required prolonged, difficult effort and endurance.
1
Cataloguing thousands of fragments without digital tools was an ___ undertaking.