herculean

adjective

ˌhər-kyə-ˈlē-ən How to pronounce herculean (audio)
Definition of herculeannext
1
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort the herculean task of grading 60 student essays over one weekend

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in enormous
unusually large a herculean banquet table that took eight men to lift it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of herculean The novel caught on slowly through word of mouth, aided by the herculean efforts of his niece Aron Ritchie, who found ways to increase the book’s visibility. — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2026 Even the herculean efforts to acquire capabilities for the conflict with Iran largely amounted to a collection of waivers, special actions, and brute-force leadership. — Doug Beck, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 Viewed through a 2026 lens, this now antiquated process seems like a herculean undertaking, one that somehow worked. — Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 Republicans started laying the groundwork for the herculean task of flipping Michigan the day after Rogers lost to Slotkin. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 6 Aug. 2026 However, SpaceX would need to 10x in three or four years to reach $1 trillion—a herculean feat given that bullish analysts have projected less than half that for 2030. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026 The commission’s remit amounts to a herculean task for the future. — Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2026 Redirecting technological change toward pro-worker AI will also involve even more herculean undertakings. — Daron Acemoglu, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026 Something as simple as trying to eat a burger became a herculean ordeal. — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 24 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for herculean
  1. difficult
  2. enormous
  3. challenging
  4. huge
  5. tough
  6. tremendous
  7. formidable
  8. gigantic
Adjective
  • The California Board of Pharmacy in 2025 reversed course on regulations that would have made the supplement more difficult to acquire after pushback from some firefighters.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Striking out on her own was a difficult transition, but embracing her solitude gave her the space to learn more about herself and make her own personal decisions, such as getting her cat or making meals of her choosing.
    — Amen Galinato, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of difficult
Adjective
  • Tucker is being counted on as a middle-of-the-order presence, but the enormous contract has made every prolonged downturn more difficult to ignore.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The researchers argue that the enormous cliff system triggered prolonged erosion that stripped away vast amounts of rock and helped expose some of North America’s oldest geological formations.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of enormous
Adjective
  • Sharing her new life on social media helped give Hoadley a sense of empowerment despite her challenging circumstances.
    — Amen Galinato, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers’ remarkable debut novel tells a story of the American South, one set in Georgia and peopled with a cast of characters that exist in a rich, layered, and challenging reality.
    — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of challenging
Adjective
  • Granted, City have made a club-record signing in Elliot Anderson, and he is expected to make a huge difference, but everything else is pending.
    — Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The baryon-junction model provides another possibility At RHIC energies, a proton contains a huge number of gluons.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of huge
Adjective
  • With men on first and third and nobody out that inning, second baseman Jackson Holliday fielded a tough grounder and threw to second, but shortstop Gunnar Henderson dropped the ball for an error and everyone was safe.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • As for footwear sales in the region, the second quarter saw a slowdown of sales of high-heat product, alongside tougher comparatives and ongoing softness in end-of-cycle footwear product lines.
    — Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of tough
Adjective
  • Yet that is the attitude that has led to tremendous underperformance by managers who think like that.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Transit has this tremendous scale and a startling capacity to shift between the intimate and the grand, as well as an intricate architecture.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of tremendous
Adjective
  • Miami entered the game riding a seven-match unbeaten streak in league play and leading MLS with 45 goals, but facing a formidable foe in Nashville.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
  • This one stars Cox himself as a mysterious and formidable old man in an undertaker’s suit and parson’s hat who wanders into an Arizona border town in 1890 to gather the names of dead Mexican laborers.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of formidable
Adjective
  • Kneeling beside the fallen buck, Charles, an avid trophy bowhunter, ran his hands over the gigantic rack.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Lakes Mead and Powell, which are essentially one gigantic reservoir separated by the Grand Canyon, hold just under 60% of the total watercurrently stored in the Colorado River basin.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of gigantic

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Cite this Entry

“Herculean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/herculean. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on herculean

Nglish: Translation of herculean for Spanish Speakers

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