Dictionary

arduous en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈɑɹ.d͡ʒu.əs/ (General-American)
• /ˈɑː.djʊ.əs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɑː.d͡ʒʊ.əs/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Latin arduus (“lofty, high, steep, hard to reach, difficult, laborious”), akin to Irish ard (“high”).

Meanings

1. Needing or using up much energy; testing powers of endurance.
   • Chelsea survived and can now turn their attentions to the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Germany later this month as they face an increasingly arduous task to finish in the Premier League's top four. 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
   • The slave-labour camps proliferated and became an important factor in the state economy, especially in regions where conditions were most arduous, as in the mines and forests of Siberia. 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume III: The Breakdown, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozkład (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 78:
   • The movement towards a peaceful settlement has been a long and arduous political struggle.
2. (obsolete) burning; ardent
   • 1805-1814, Dante, Henry Francis Cary (translator), The Divine Comedy Where flames the arduous Spirit of Isidore.
3. Difficult or exhausting to traverse.
   • Survivor reaches as many as 28 million viewers who watch contestants win a new Pontiac or guzzle Mountain Dew after scaling an arduous cliff. 2006, Jack W. Plunkett, Plunkett's Entertainment & Media Industry Almanac 2006:
   • Mike looked up from the arduous mountain trail. They'd been climbing for five hours and he was beginning to feel irritable. 1999, Scott Ciencin, Mike Fredericks, Dinoverse:
   • Beyond the river, an arduous slope rises 3286 feet in 13 miles. 1974, Sue Bowder, The American biking atlas & touring guide, page 77:

Forms

Deriveds

arduousness · unarduous · arduously

Relateds

arduity

Synonyms

burdensome · laborious · fatiguing · uphill · strugglesome · exhausting · strenuous · demanding · onerous · wearisome

Translations (82)

de steil (hard to climb or traverse) · sv jobbig (needing or using up much energy) · es arduo (needing or using up much energy) · es riguroso (needing or using up much energy) · nl zwaar (hard to climb or traverse) · de mühsam (needing or using up much energy) · nl uitputtend (needing or using up much energy) · ru тру́дный (needing or using up much energy) · tr gayretli (needing or using up much energy) · tr güç (needing or using up much energy) · ja 難儀な (needing or using up much energy) · tr sarp (hard to climb or traverse) · cmn 艱巨 /艰巨 (needing or using up much energy) · bg мъчен (needing or using up much energy) · sh mukotrpan (needing or using up much energy) · hu megerőltető (needing or using up much energy) · fr ardu (needing or using up much energy) · cmn 艱苦 /艰苦 (needing or using up much energy) · ar شَاق (needing or using up much energy) · pt árduo (needing or using up much energy) · sv avancerad (needing or using up much energy) · hu meredek (hard to climb or traverse) · hu fáradságos (needing or using up much energy) · sv ansträngande (needing or using up much energy) · nl moeizaam (needing or using up much energy) · fi rasittava (needing or using up much energy) · ja 苦しい (needing or using up much energy) · ru напряжённый (needing or using up much energy) · fi vaivalloinen (needing or using up much energy) · ga maslach (needing or using up much energy) · ko 고난의 (needing or using up much energy) · no vanskelig (needing or using up much energy) · tr ağır (needing or using up much energy) · sv besvärlig (hard to climb or traverse) · nl steil (hard to climb or traverse) · ru круто́й (hard to climb or traverse) · pl uciążliwy (needing or using up much energy) · sv arbetsam (needing or using up much energy) · ko 힘드는 (needing or using up much energy) · da anstrengende (needing or using up much energy) · bg стръмен (hard to climb or traverse) · de anstrengend (needing or using up much energy) · hu fárasztó (needing or using up much energy) · sv besvärlig (needing or using up much energy) · fi uuvuttava (needing or using up much energy) · ru тяжёлый (needing or using up much energy) · de erschöpfend (needing or using up much energy) · it arduo (needing or using up much energy) · tr çetin (hard to climb or traverse) · es arduo (hard to climb or traverse) · pt árduo (hard to climb or traverse) · fi jyrkkä (hard to climb or traverse) · bg труден (needing or using up much energy) · ru труднодосту́пный (hard to climb or traverse) · nl zwaar (needing or using up much energy) · bg недостъпен (hard to climb or traverse) · it arduo (hard to climb or traverse) · nl moeilijk te beklimmen (hard to climb or traverse) · ca ardu (needing or using up much energy) · tr çetin (needing or using up much energy) · fa دشوارگذر (hard to climb or traverse) · ca ardu (hard to climb or traverse) · tg душворгузар (hard to climb or traverse) · sv brant (hard to climb or traverse) · bg усилен (needing or using up much energy) · no vanskelig (hard to climb or traverse) · yue 艱巨 /艰巨 (needing or using up much energy) · pl arcytrudny (needing or using up much energy) · tg саъбулубур (hard to climb or traverse) · fa صعبالعبور (hard to climb or traverse) · de beschwerlich (needing or using up much energy) · no slitsom (needing or using up much energy) · sv svår (needing or using up much energy) · tr zor (needing or using up much energy) · fi työläs (needing or using up much energy) · nl uitputtend (hard to climb or traverse) · yue 艱苦 /艰苦 (needing or using up much energy) · da besværlig (needing or using up much energy) · es dispendioso (needing or using up much energy) · fi ankara (needing or using up much energy) · sv krånglig (needing or using up much energy) · fi vaativa (hard to climb or traverse)