SKIP TO CONTENT

WORD OF THE DAY

A Sisyphean task seems impossible to complete. You might look at the mountain of laundry on your bedroom floor and feel like washing it will be a Sisyphean job — especially since you know that you will have to wash it all again the following week.

You can use Sisyphean to describe things that require a lot of hard work and yet will never be truly finished. Keeping a house clean can feel Sisyphean, and so can deciding on a movie that everyone in a family will enjoy. The word comes from the character Sisyphus in Greek mythology, who was sentenced for his wrongdoing to push a boulder up a hill and watch it roll back down, again and again, forever.


Want to expand your vocabulary?

Get Word of the Day delivered straight to your inbox!

Previous Words of the Day