Irksome

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Irksome \Irk"some\, a.
     1. Wearisome; tedious; disagreeable or troublesome by reason
        of long continuance or repetition; as, irksome hours;
        irksome tasks.
        [1913 Webster]
  


              For not to irksome toil, but to delight,
              He made us.                           --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Weary; vexed; uneasy. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Let us therefore learn not to be irksome when God
              layeth his cross upon us.             --Latimer.
  
     Syn: Wearisome; tedious; tiresome; vexatious; burdensome.
  
     Usage: {Irksome}, {Wearisome}, {Tedious}. These epithets
            describe things which give pain or disgust. Irksome is
            applied to something which disgusts by its nature or
            quality; as, an irksome task. Wearisome denotes that
            which wearies or wears us out by severe labor; as,
            wearisome employment. Tedious is applied to something
            which tires us out by the length of time occupied in
            its performance; as, a tedious speech.
            [1913 Webster]
  
                  Wearisome nights are appointed to me. --Job vii.
                                                    3.
            [1913 Webster]
  
                  Pity only on fresh objects stays,
                  But with the tedious sight of woes decays.
                                                    --Dryden.
            -- {Irk"some*ly}, adv. -- {Irk"some*ness}, n.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  irksome
       adj : so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a
             boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the
             deadening effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play";
             "his competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker
             who couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome
             task the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke;
             "tedious days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of
             a cricket"- Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are
             dreadfully wearisome" [syn: {boring}, {deadening}, {dull},
              {ho-hum}, {slow}, {tedious}, {tiresome}, {wearisome}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  61 Moby Thesaurus words for "irksome":
     aggravating, annoying, backbreaking, besetting, boresome, boring,
     bothering, bothersome, burdensome, chafing, crushing, disturbing,
     drudging, dull, exasperating, exhausting, fagging, fatiguing,
     galling, grueling, harassing, heavy, hefty, importunate, importune,
     irking, irritating, nettling, onerous, oppressive, painful, pesky,
     pestering, pestiferous, pestilent, pestilential, plaguesome,
     plaguey, plaguing, provoking, stupefyingly boring, stupid,
     stuporific, teasing, tedious, tiresome, tiring, tormenting,
     troublesome, troubling, trying, uninteresting, vexatious, vexing,
     weariful, wearing, wearisome, wearying, worrisome, worrying,
     yawny