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- DictionarySisyphean/sɪsɪˈfiːən/
adjective
- 1. denoting or relating to a task that can never be completed: "the pursuit of perfection is a Sisyphean task"
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The meaning of SISYPHEAN is of, relating to, or suggestive of the labors of Sisyphus; specifically : requiring continual and often ineffective effort. How to use Sisyphean in a sentence. Did you know?
formal uk / ˌsɪs.ɪˈfiː.ən / us / ˌsɪs.ɪˈfiː.ən /. Add to word list. used to describe a task that can never be completed: Trying to completely eliminate doping from sport is a Sisyphean task.
Sisyphean describes a task as seemingly endless and futile—you keep doing it but it never gets done. The word comes from the name of Sisyphus , a character in Greek mythology who was punished by being forced to continuously roll a boulder up a steep hill.
You can use Sisyphean to describe things that require a lot of hard work and yet will never be truly finished. Keeping a house clean can feel Sisyphean, and so can deciding on a movie that everyone in a family will enjoy.
2 meanings: 1. relating to Sisyphus 2. actually or seemingly endless and futile.... Click for more definitions.
adj. 1. Of or relating to Sisyphus. 2. Endlessly laborious or futile: "The jumble of wet pans and platters ... made him weary; to dry them seemed a task as Sisyphean as to repair the things wrong with his parents' house" (Jonathan Franzen). [From Latin Sisyphēius, from Greek Sisupheios, from Sisuphos, Sisyphus.]
Definition of Sisyphean adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.