Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of unusual size, power, or difficulty.
- adjective Of or relating to Hercules.
- adjective Resembling Hercules.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of or relating to Hercules: as, the twelve Herculean labors; the Herculean myth.
- [cap. or lowercase] Resembling Hercules in size, strength, or courage; appropriate to the attributes of Hercules: as, a herculean athlete; a herculean fist.
- [cap. or lowercase] Very difficult or dangerous: in allusion to the Herculean labors: as, a herculean task.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Requiring the strength of Hercules; hence, very great, difficult, or dangerous.
- adjective Having extraordinary strength or size.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of extraordinary might, power, size, etc.; of or relating to
Hercules in size or strength. - adjective Requiring a huge amount of
work ; of extraordinary difficulty.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective extremely difficult; requiring the strength of a Hercules
- adjective displaying superhuman strength or power
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Moses; and he wrote not merely amid the cares and duties of a great public office, with other labors which might be called Herculean, but even amid pains of disease and the infirmities of age, -- when rest, to most people, is the greatest boon and solace of their lives.
Beacon Lights of History John Lord 1852
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Thus concerns for these foreign components are merely to prove Musharraf as a patriotic and large hearted Pakistani who could be a part of track II diplomacy but to make Lilliputian Pakistani politicians unmistakable for their so-called Herculean power.
Bloggers.Pakistan 2009
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"Herculean" is the word that comes to mind when you think of Harry Reid.
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To spare CoffeeHousers the details about how our PM is "brimming with ideas" and how he puts in "Herculean" 12-hour days, here's the key passage from towards the end of the article:
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Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz says it will take a quote, "Herculean" effort to get the voters motivated.
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(Soundbite of song, "Herculean") Mr. ALBARN: (Singing) And the medicine man is here 24-7.
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(Soundbite of song, "Herculean") Mr. ALBARN: (Singing) And the medicine man is here 24-7.
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I will tell you the tale of my wanderings and of the "Herculean" labors, as I may call them, which I endured only to find at last the oracle irrefutable.
The Dialogues of Plato, Translated into English with Analyses and Introductions, by B. Jowett. Plato 1871
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I will tell you the tale of my wanderings and of the 'Herculean' labours, as I may call them, which I endured only to find at last the oracle irrefutable.
Apology 427? BC-347? BC Plato 1855
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But he credited teams for their "Herculean" efforts in selling tickets and sponsorships in a tough economy, and gate revenue is a portion of the "basketball-related income" formula that helps determine the cap.
Homepage By BRIAN MAHONEY 2010
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