Today's Word "Sisyphean"
Endlessly laborious and futile
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Published in Vocabulary
sisyphean \sis-seh-FEE-ehn\ (adjective) - Endlessly laborious and futile; also, related to Sisyphus, as "the Sisyphean story."
"Pleasing everyone in the office was a Sisyphean task that Courtney no longer took seriously."
Greek "Sisupheios" from Sisuphos "Sisyphus," the eponym of today's word. For Sisyphus's misdeeds, Zeus condemned him to push a boulder up a hill in Hades endlessly, only to have it roll back down when it reached the top. Watch this page for the story of Tantalus, coming soon. "Sisyphean" tells of bearing up under a lost cause better than any other word in English. The adjective is usually capitalized despite the fact that it has long been commonized.
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