as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
the book's abstruse subject matter and dense prose make for effortful reading
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Recent Examples of effortful
What a transformation that would’ve been, of the effortful, unchanging days.
—
Nell Freudenberger, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Embodiment comes through repetition, when the nervous system begins to learn safety and repair becomes a natural reflex rather than an effortful performance.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 19 Jan. 2026
But that shouldn’t look too effortful, or overly dependent on novelty or shallow surrealism.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
Sennecke’s effortful shift ultimately sent the Capitals into the Ducks’ end, where Husso stymied Connor McMichael on a breakaway.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Nell Freudenberger, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Embodiment comes through repetition, when the nervous system begins to learn safety and repair becomes a natural reflex rather than an effortful performance.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 19 Jan. 2026
But that shouldn’t look too effortful, or overly dependent on novelty or shallow surrealism.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
Sennecke’s effortful shift ultimately sent the Capitals into the Ducks’ end, where Husso stymied Connor McMichael on a breakaway.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for effortful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effortful
Adjective
-
When Thomson went through a difficult divorce, in 2014, Djena would often check in on her, showing up at her door with food.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Crow-Armstrong had just failed to make a highly difficult, leaping catch at the wall.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
Essential in this most challenging of environments.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 May 2026
-
That’s what will make the job challenging and difficult.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Adjective
-
For decades, the legal profession has maintained strict boundaries around who can provide services in the form of licenses that require professionals to undergo significant schooling and rigorous testing.—
Robert Scott,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
Every article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors.—
John Csiszar,
CNBC,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Each of those teams will be competing for playoff spots again, leaving the Raiders with no easy divisional wins and a tough out-of-division schedule.—
Sam Warren,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The group did just enough against Sale and a tough Braves bullpen to avoid getting shut out for the third time in five games.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Shooting in Japan, difficult underwater filming, and an extremely demanding post-production with editing, sound design and VFX.—
JD Linville,
Variety,
19 May 2026
-
Blue-collar work tends to be more physically demanding and often risky.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
But the real joy here is the wine list, which is stocked with everything from hard-to-find and private-order bottles to biodynamic selections, organic Burgundies, and orange wines.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 May 2026
-
Murphy actually got her hands on all five shots in the shootout as Karnezis’ hard liner deflected off her and into the net.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Effortful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effortful. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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