1.
[syn: arduous, backbreaking, grueling, gruelling, hard, heavy, laborious, operose, punishing, toilsome]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
backbreaking
adj 1: characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion;
especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up
the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor";
"heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours
on the project"; "set a punishing pace" [syn: arduous,
backbreaking, grueling, gruelling, hard, heavy,
laborious, operose, punishing, toilsome]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
33 Moby Thesaurus words for "backbreaking":
Herculean, annoying, arduous, besetting, bothersome, burdensome,
crushing, effortful, forced, grueling, hard-earned, hard-fought,
heavy, hefty, irksome, killing, labored, laborious, onerous,
operose, oppressive, painful, plaguey, punishing, strained,
strenuous, toilsome, tough, troublesome, trying, uphill, vexatious,
wearisome