taskmaster en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈtæskˌmæstɚ/ (General-American)
Etymology
From task + master.
Meanings
-
Someone who supervises workers, especially one who imposes hard or burdensome work.
And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 3:7:
-
(figuratively) A source of hard work or responsibility.
Everyone knows the enthusiasm is inauthentic and only for show, but artifice and inauthenticity are perfectly adequate for the politicization taskmasters. […] It all looked so easy when the competent were at the helm, but reality is a cruel taskmaster, and all the excuses that worked as an underling wear thin once the incompetent are in leadership roles.
2023 June 4, Charles Hugh Smith, What Happens When the Competent Opt Out?, archived from the original on 23 Nov 2023:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| taskmasters | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (7)
de Aufseher (Supervisor) · pl nadzorczyni (Supervisor) · de Antreiber (Supervisor) · bg надзирател (Supervisor) · he נוֹגֵשׂ (Supervisor) · de Zuchtmeister (Supervisor) · pl nadzorca (Supervisor)