sedulous

adjective

sed·u·lous ˈse-jə-ləs

Synonyms of sedulous

: involving or accomplished with careful perseverance

sedulous craftsmanship

: diligent in application or pursuit

a sedulous student

sedulously adverb

sedulousness noun

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Dedicate Yourself to Learning the History of Sedulous

No fooling—the word sedulous ultimately comes from Latin se dolus, which literally means "without guile." Those two words were eventually melded into one, sedulo, meaning "sincerely" or "diligently," and from that root developed Latin sedulus and English sedulous. Don't let the sed- beginning mislead you; sedulous is not related to words such as sedentary or sedate (those derive from the Latin verb sedēre, meaning "to sit"). Sedulous people are not the sedate or sedentary sort. They're the hardworking types Scottish author Samuel Smiles must have had in mind when he wrote in his 1859 book Self-Help, "Sedulous attention and painstaking industry always mark the true worker."

Choose the Right Synonym for sedulous

busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous mean actively engaged or occupied.

busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure.

too busy to spend time with the children

industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work.

industrious employees

diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit.

very diligent in her pursuit of a degree

assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application.

assiduous practice

sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application.

a sedulous investigation of the murder

Examples of sedulous in a Sentence

an impressively sedulous suitor, he was constantly sending her flowers and other tokens of his affection

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Putting festivals like this on stage is clearly just one part of the slow, sedulous work of relationship building and repair. —Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Mar. 2023 Among the advantages that billionaires receive due to their wealth is sedulous defenses by journalists and other camp followers. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2022