Sisyphean
A Sisyphean task seems impossible to complete. You might look at the mountain of laundry on your bedroom floor and feel like washing it will be a Sisyphean job — especially since you know that you will have to wash it all again the following week.
You can use Sisyphean to describe things that require a lot of hard work and yet will never be truly finished. Keeping a house clean can feel Sisyphean, and so can deciding on a movie that everyone in a family will enjoy. The word comes from the character Sisyphus in Greek mythology, who was sentenced for his wrongdoing to push a boulder up a hill and watch it roll back down, again and again, forever.
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both extremely effortful and futilesynonyms:effortfulrequiring great physical effort
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of or relating to Sisyphus
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Vocabulary lists containing Sisyphean
Jay Aubrey Jones pronounced more than 36,000 words for Vocabulary.com (including laurel). Here are some of the most esoteric. See if you can spell them while listening to the dulcet tones of Jay's voice!
If learning about the ancient world feels like a herculean task, review these terms related to Greek and Roman mythology. This epic list will take you on an odyssey through the classical world, where you'll encounter gods and goddesses, all-knowing oracles, and legendary creatures like the centaur.
It would be a tragedy if you didn't learn this epic list of words related to ancient Greek mythology and literature. Review the Greek gods and goddesses, from Aphrodite to Zeus, and encounter mythological creatures like the manticore, phoenix, and centaur. This list also covers important literary terms such as elegy, ode, and chorus.