arduous
Very difficult and tiring, needing lots of effort.
arduous in a sentence
- The arduous climb up the mountain left everyone gasping and rubbing their sore legs.
- Rowing across the choppy lake was arduous work that left everyone's arms aching.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to arduous?
- Alight
- Beasy
- Chard
- Dsimple
Show the answer
C: hard. The other three mean the opposite of arduous.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to arduous?
- Aeasy
- Btiring
- Chard
- Dtough
Show the answer
A: easy. The other three mean nearly the same as arduous.
Words that mean something similar
hard, tiring, tough
Words that mean the opposite
easy, simple, light
More words about movement & action
- ascend: To climb or move upwards.
- assemble: To put pieces together, or to gather in one place.
- asunder: Apart, or into pieces.
- avert: To turn away, or to stop something bad from happening.
- banish: To send someone away and forbid them from coming back.
- beckon: To wave or signal to someone to come closer.
- billow: To swell and roll like waves, especially smoke or cloth.
- bolster: To support something and make it stronger.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test