: tiresome because of length or dullness : boring
a tedious public ceremony
tediously adverb
tediousness noun

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The Long and Uneventful History of Tedious

Words frequently change their meanings, and some even will go from meaning one thing to meaning something almost opposite (such as nice, which in its earliest use meant "lewd, wanton, dissolute"). Tedious is not one of these words; its meanings may have shifted over the centuries, but they have always had something to do with irksome, boring, or overlong things. The word comes from the Latin taedēre, meaning “to disgust or weary.” Tedious has been in use since the 15th century and has been included in hundreds of dictionaries, although perhaps none have rendered so poetic and succinct a definition as Nathaniel Bailey’s entry in his 1756 New Universal Etymological English Dictionary: “Wearisome by continuance.”

Examples of tedious in a Sentence

Writing a new spreadsheet or word-processing program these days is a tedious process, like building a skyscraper out of toothpicks. Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 16 June 1994
Another of their assignments was to slow-fly any plane that had a new engine to break it in; that meant flying the aircraft for a tedious hour-and-a-half as slowly as it would possibly go without falling out of the sky. Doris Weatherford, American Women and World War II, 1990
From there, it became clear that the deposition was going to be neither as undramatic nor as quotidian, and even tedious, as it at first appeared. Renata Adler, New Yorker, June 23, 1986
He made a tedious 45-minute speech. The work is tedious, but it needs to get done.
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.
Leaders no longer have to go through the tedious process of creating relatable content. Jon Michail, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025 This eliminates the tedious, expensive process of working with legal firms. senseIP, committed to making patent protection faster, smarter, and more accessible, guides users even after filing. Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025 Pushing the pedal to the floor on every Soto at-bat will become tedious. Bob Raissman, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2025 While beginners are often instructed to use the breath as an anchor, that narrow focus can feel constricting or tedious for some people with ADHD, Star says. Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 6 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tedious

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin taediosus, from Latin taedium — see tedium

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tedious was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tedious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tedious. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

tedious

adjective
: tiring because of length or dullness : boring
tediously adverb
tediousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on tedious

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