Dictionary entry

Irksome

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Irk″some (?), a. 1. Wearisome; tedious; disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; as, irksome hours; irksome tasks.

For not to irksome toil, but to delight,

He made us. Milton.

2. Weary; vexed; uneasy.

Let us therefore learn not to be irksome when God layeth his cross upon us. Latimer.

Syn. — Wearisome; tedious; tiresome; vexatious; burdensome. — 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.

Wearisome nights are appointed to me. Job vii. 3.

Pity only on fresh objects stays,

But with the tedious sight of woes decays. Dryden.

— Irk″some‐ly, adv. — Irk″some‐ness, n.