C215 words · Proficient

Everyday Routines vocabulary — C2

Everyday Routines vocabulary for routine analysed rather than lived, including humdrum, quotidian, drudgery and ingrained — words for the sheer force of habit and the tedium it can bring.

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Words in this set

humdrum
/ˈhʌmˌdrʌm/
Dull and always the same, day after day.
Example: After ten years the commute had become utterly humdrum.
ingrained
/ˌɪnˈɡreɪnd/
Fixed so firmly by years of repetition that it is very hard to change.
Example: Checking my phone first thing is completely ingrained now.
quotidian
Happening every day; ordinary and unremarkable (formal/literary).
Example: He wrote about the quotidian rhythms of family life.
workaday
/ˈwɜrkəˌdeɪ/
Ordinary and not special; part of everyday routine.
Example: The novel captures the workaday grind of city commuters.
banal
/bəˈnɑl/
So ordinary and repeated that it has become boring.
Example: The film's banal dialogue made it hard to watch.
perfunctory
/pərˈfʌŋktəri/
Done quickly and without real interest or care, just because it's expected.
Example: He gave a perfunctory nod and carried on scrolling his phone.
vegetate
/ˈvɛdʒəˌteɪt/
To spend time doing nothing active or interesting, especially watching TV.
Example: After a long week, I just want to vegetate on the sofa.
drudgery
/ˈdrʌdʒəri/
Hard, dull work that has to be done over and over again.
Example: Batch cooking on Sundays saves me from a lot of drudgery.
thankless
/ˈθæŋkləs/
Involving hard work that isn't noticed or appreciated by others.
Example: Cleaning up after everyone feels like a thankless task.
tedium
/ˈtidiəm/
The feeling of boredom caused by a long, dull, repeated task.
Example: Nothing relieves the tedium of folding endless laundry.
toil
/tɔɪl/
Hard, tiring work done over a long period.
Example: Years of toil kept the old house standing.
grind
/ɡraɪnd/
Boring, hard work that continues for a long time without a break (informal).
Example: Doing the school run every day is a real grind.
bleary-eyed
Unable to see or think clearly because you have just woken or slept badly.
Example: He shuffled in bleary-eyed and knocked the milk over.
rouse
/raʊs/
To make someone stop sleeping and become awake and active again.
Example: Nothing could rouse him from bed before eleven on Sundays.
somnolent
/ˈsɑmnələnt/
Sleepy, or making you feel sleepy (formal/literary).
Example: The somnolent afternoon heat made everyone drowsy.