herculean
/hɜːɹˈkjuːliən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of extraordinary might, power, size, etc.; suggesting Hercules in size or strength.
adj
Requiring a huge amount of work; of extraordinary difficulty.
adj
Alternative letter-case form of Herculean.
Example Sentences
- "But this is not the best:—look, pr'ythee, Charmian, / How this Herculean Roman does become / The carriage of his chafe."
- "a Herculean labour"
- "He replied in a dry manner, that I would find it a Herculean task to chastise everybody who should laugh at my expense;"
- "2006, Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear (TV show), commenting on the Bugatti Veyron automobile The guys at Volkswagen have a Herculean task."
- "There are thousands of known isotopes, and to have a functional and easily maintainable exhibit for all of these would require a Herculean effort."
- "Still there are some loop-holes out of which a man may creep, and dare to think and act for himself; but for a woman it is an herculean task, because she has difficulties peculiar to her sex to overcome, which require almost super-human powers."
Etymology
Etymology tree English Hercules Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an English Herculean From Hercules + -an.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /hɜːɹˈkjuːliən/
Inflected Forms
more Herculean (comparative)
most Herculean (superlative)
Herculæan (alternative)
Herculian (alternative)