EN

Synonyms for plodding

  • adjective
  • noun

Most common

slow dull leaden humdrum persevering hard-working

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Slow

slow, dull, leaden, humdrum, lifeless, vapid, cold, tedious, insipid, stodgy, pedestrian, blah, stuffy, ho-hum dated US CA

2. Persevering

persevering, hard-working, diligent, industrious

Other

longsome UK, ploddy, ploddish

Noun

drudgery, donkey work, grind

Antonyms

pulse-pounding, zippy, bounding

All antonyms of plodding →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Progressing slowly and laboriously.

  2. n. 1

    Slow, laborious progress.

Forms

Plural
ploddings → drudgeries, grinds…

Example sentences

  • slow He who is slow to promise is best in keeping them.
  • vapid What kind of vapid comments will I get on this sentence?
  • humdrum I'm tired of this humdrum existence.
  • leaden Golden words are often followed by leaden acts.
  • diligent Generally, the Japanese are very diligent workers.
  • persevering Success is always on the side of the persevering.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
ploddingrising
slowsteady
vapidrising
humdrumsteady
leadenrising
diligentsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
cold1, slow1, dull1, blah1
5 letters
grind1, vapid2
6 letters
stuffy2, leaden2, stodgy2, ploddy
7 letters
tedious3, insipid3, humdrum2
8 letters
lifeless2, diligent3, drudgery3, longsome, ploddish
10 letters
pedestrian4
11 letters
industrious4, persevering4

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (vapid2 = 2 syllables).