1
Core quality
Requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
Example
Participants avoided strenuous activity after the procedure.
strenuous
/ˈstrenjuəs/ · STREN-yoo-usadjective
Requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
Use strenuous to express this relationship precisely: requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
What strenuous 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
The ascent was strenuous but not technically difficult.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The team made strenuous efforts to verify every record.
Use strenuous Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Participants avoided strenuous activity after the procedure.
The ascent was strenuous but not technically difficult.
The team made strenuous efforts to verify every record.
Precision Matters
Strenuous overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
strenuous
vs.Means requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
arduous
Means requiring sustained, difficult effort or endurance.
strenuous
vs.Means requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
assiduous
Means showing persistent care, attention, and effort.
strenuous
vs.Means requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
prodigious
Means remarkably large or impressive.
strenuous
vs.Means requiring or involving great physical or mental effort, energy, or exertion.
insurmountable
Means too great or difficult to overcome.
Test strenuous in Context
The task required intense physical effort and exertion.
1
Carrying equipment up the steep trail was so ___ that the team divided the journey over two days.