sisyphean task
1Sisyphean — [sis΄ə fē′ən] adj. [< L Sisypheius < Gr Sisypheios < Sisyphos + AN] 1. of or like Sisyphus 2. endless and toilsome, useless, etc. [a Sisyphean task] …
2Sisyphean — also Sisyphian adjective Date: 1635 of, relating to, or suggestive of the labors of Sisyphus < a Sisyphean task > …
3Sisyphean — Sis•y•phe•an [[t]ˌsɪs əˈfi ən[/t]] adj. cvb suggesting or resembling the punishment of Sisyphus in futility or hopelessness: a Sisyphean task[/ex] …
4Sisyphean — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ (of a task) unending. ORIGIN from Sisyphus in Greek mythology who was condemned to the eternal task of rolling a large stone to the top of a hill, from which it always rolled down again …
5Sisyphean — [ˌsɪsɪ fi:ən] adjective denoting a task that can never be completed. Origin C16: from Sisyphus in Greek mythology, who was condemned to the eternal task of rolling a large stone to the top of a hill, from which it always rolled down again …
6Sisyphean — /sis euh fee euhn/, adj. 1. of or pertaining to Sisyphus. 2. endless and unavailing, as labor or a task. [1625 35; < Gk Sisýphe(ios) (Sísyph(os) SISYPHUS + eios adj. suffix) + AN] * * * …
7Sisyphean labor — difficult and futile task, endless work (from a Greek myth in which king Sisyphus was doomed to eternally push a boulder up a hill for offending Zeus) …
8Sisyphean — /sɪsəˈfiən/ (say sisuh feeuhn) adjective endless and unavailing, as labour or a task. {from Sisyphus, in Greek legend, a king of Corinth whose wickedness in life was punished in the lower world where he had to roll uphill a huge stone which as… …
9Sisyphean — adj. (of toil) endless and fruitless like that of Sisyphus in Greek mythology (whose task in Hades was to push uphill a stone that at once rolled down again) …
10Sisyphus — In Greek mythology, Sisyphus (Greek: Σίσυφος [sí.sy.phos] Audio IPA|Ell Sisyfos.ogg| [ si.si.fos] , Latinized: Sisyphus, (IPAEng|ˈsɪsɨfəs)), was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll… …
