Meanings
plural tediousnesses
- uncountableusuallyThe quality of being tedious; tedium.
[B]revity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes[.]
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]1 more example
I am the worst person in the world for formal dinners, but I shall be thankful to have a resting-place whereon to bestow my tediousness in an evening.
1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 95Synonyms: wearisomeness, prolixity, tiresomeness, slowness, tedium, tediosity
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe quality of being tedious; tedium.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishtediosenes
- Englishtediousness
From Middle English tediosenes, tediousenesse, tediousnesse, tedusnes, teduysnes, tedyousnes; equivalent to tedious + -ness.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish kedsomhed
- kedsomhedquality of being tedious
Finnish pitkäveteisyys, tylsyys
- pitkäveteisyysquality of being tedious
- tylsyysquality of being tedious
French monotonie, ennui
- monotoniequality of being tedious
- ennuiquality of being tedious
Irish liostacht, leadránacht
- liostachtquality of being tedious
- leadránachtquality of being tedious
Italian noia, monotonia
- noiaquality of being tedious
- monotoniaquality of being tedious
- fastidiositàquality of being tedious
- pallositàquality of being tedious
- noiositàquality of being tedious
- fastidiosagginequality of being tedious
- tediositàquality of being tedious
- stucchevolezzaquality of being tedious
Japanese 退屈
- 退屈 (taikutsu)quality of being tedious
Māori takeotanga
- takeotangaquality of being tedious
Norwegian Bokmål kjedsomhet
- kjedsomhetquality of being tedious
Spanish prolijidad
- prolijidadquality of being tedious
Turkish bıkkınlık, bezginlik
- bıkkınlıkquality of being tedious
- bezginlikquality of being tedious
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tediousness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tediousness
“tediousness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tediousness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tediousness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tediousness.
Source: tediousness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.