laborious

laborious
    adj 1: characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion;
           especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up
           the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor";
           "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours
           on the project"; "set a punishing pace" [syn: {arduous},
           {backbreaking}, {grueling}, {gruelling}, {hard}, {heavy},
           {laborious}, {operose}, {punishing}, {toilsome}]
    

Laborious \La*bo"ri*ous\, a. [L. laboriosus, fr. labor labor:
   cf. F. laborieux.]
   1. Requiring labor, perseverance, or sacrifices; toilsome;
      tiresome.
      [1913 Webster]

            Dost thou love watchings, abstinence, or toil,
            Laborious virtues all? Learn these from Cato.
                                                  --Addison.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Devoted to labor; diligent; industrious; as, a laborious
      mechanic.
      [1913 Webster] -- {La*bo"ri*ous*ly}, adv. --
      {La*bo"ri*ous*ness}, n.
      [1913 Webster]
    

103 Moby Thesaurus words for "laborious":
      Herculean, abstruse, ardent, arduous, assiduous, backbreaking,
      brutal, burdensome, careful, complex, critical, crushing, delicate,
      demanding, detailed, determined, difficile, difficult, diligent,
      dogged, effortful, energetic, exacting, exhausting, exhaustive,
      fatiguing, fervent, forced, formidable, grueling, hairy, hard,
      hard-earned, hard-fought, hard-working, hardworking, heavy, hefty,
      indefatigable, industrious, intricate, jawbreaking, killing,
      knotted, knotty, labored, mean, never idle, no picnic, not easy,
      obdurate, obstinate, onerous, operose, oppressive, overworked,
      painful, painstaking, persevering, persistent, ponderous,
      punishing, relentless, rigorous, rough, rugged, scrupulous,
      sedulous, set with thorns, severe, sleepless, spiny, steadfast,
      steady, steep, stiff, strained, strenuous, stubborn, taxing,
      thorny, thorough, ticklish, tireless, tiring, toilsome, tough,
      tricky, troublesome, unflagging, unrelenting, unremitting,
      unsleeping, unsparing, untiring, unwavering, unwearied, uphill,
      vehement, wearisome, wearying, wicked, zealous