Tiring or tiresome? This is another of my 'just curious' queries. Which adjective fits best here? I have a very .............. job. I'm exhausted at the end of every day. A. tiring B. tiresome C.

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La Liseuse

Tiring or tiresome? This is another of my 'just curious' queries. Which adjective fits best here? I have a very .............. job. I'm exhausted at the end of every day. A. tiring B. tiresome C. both of the above? I would have thought that only 'tiring' would work here. If something is tiring, it makes you tired. For me, the only meaning of 'tiresome' is tedious, in the sense of annoying, irritating and a strain on one's patience - for example, 'His endless questions were very tiresome'. However, I was surprised to hear another native speaker using 'tiresome' in an example similar to the one above. What do you think? Are 'tired' and 'tiresome' interchangeable here? Thank in advance for your input.

Mar 8, 2016 4:14 PM

Answers · 19

No I don't think they are. They mean different things, exactly as you described.

March 8, 2016

Agreed: - tiring = physically exhausting - tiresome = mentally exhausting, boring or irritating

March 8, 2016

I agree with your usage, Su.Ki. I don't think they're interchangeable.

March 8, 2016

I actually would use "tiresome" this way. I'd be more inclined to use "tiring" for something physically tiring, like going to the gym or going for a walk. It seems I'm in the minority here though!

March 8, 2016

If it were within my power to conjure up an original thought, I would be more than pleased to offer it here. My only recourse was to consultmy friend, Mr Thesaurus, and here are the results: Tiring exhausting, demanding, exacting, taxing, arduous, difficult, hard to endure, boring, uninteresting, grueling, onerous, requiring hard labor, tedious, dull, monotonous, tiresome, irritating, exasperating. Tiresome irritating, exasperating, annoying, boring, dull, exhausting, laborious, monotonous, onerous, tedious, tiring, uninteresting, repetitious, plebeian, troubling, vexatious, wearisome, unmanageable socially, humdrum, uneventful, irksome, interminable, tedious, onerous, laborious, bothersome, disturbing, disquieting, exhausting, fatiguing, perturbing, distressful, Quite similar and not entirely distinguishable, which leads me to think that they may well be interchangeable. Just one man's opinion of moonlight; Donovan

March 8, 2016

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