Standard Lemma guide

laboriously

adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ləˈbɔː.ɹi.əs.lɪ/
  • US: /ləˈbɔɹ.i.əs.li/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: L AH0 B AO1 R IY0 AH0 S L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

With great expenditure of effort, in a manner requiring much labor.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • The heavy man laboriously climbed the steep mountain, pulling himself up inch by inch.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adverb

Meaning 2

in a laborious manner

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • their lives were spent in committee making decisions for others to execute on the basis of data laboriously gathered for them

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English laborious Middle English -ly English -ly English laboriously From laborious + -ly.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: laboriosament — with great expenditure of effort
  • Czech: pracně — with great expenditure of effort
  • Finnish: hankalasti — with great expenditure of effort
  • French: laborieusement — with great expenditure of effort
  • Hungarian: fáradságosan — with great expenditure of effort
  • Hungarian: nehézkesen — with great expenditure of effort
  • Hungarian: vesződségesen — with great expenditure of effort
  • Latin: labōriōsē — with great expenditure of effort
  • Spanish: laboriosamente — with great expenditure of effort