labored

[ley-berd]

adjective

1. done or made with difficulty; heavy.

   labored breathing.

   Antonyms: easy, simple

2. exhibiting a great deal of effort; lacking grace, fluency, or spontaneity.

   a labored prose style.

   Synonyms: stiff, unnatural, ornate, overdone
   Antonyms: natural, plain

Other Word Forms

• laboredly adverb
• laboredness noun
• unlabored adjective
• well-labored adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of labored¹

First recorded in 1525–35; labor + -ed ²

Synonym Study

See elaborate.

Example Sentences

Visual artists who labored on the Sphere project have justly grumbled that their sweat has gotten publicly dismissed as AI.

From Los Angeles Times

A notorious perfectionist, Springsteen labored for months on the song “Born to Run.”

From Los Angeles Times

Brooks’ labored apologia is a history — his history — of recent American conservatism, a Manichaean fable of civilized, conscientious conservatives full of marvelous ideas and déclassé, knuckle-dragging right-wingers.

From Salon

Still, as with almost all farmwork in California, some of those who labored there were undocumented.

From Los Angeles Times

And that’s kind of what happened until her final hours when her breathing became so labored she was writhing and wrenching herself upright trying to get air.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arduous 
• awkward 
• clumsy 
• contrived 
• ponderous 
• strained