Sisyphean

American  

[sis-uh-fee-uhn] / ˌsɪs əˈfi ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Sisyphus.

2. endless and unavailing, as labor or a task.

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Sisyphean British  

/ ˌsɪsɪˈfiːən /

adjective

1. relating to Sisyphus

2. actually or seemingly endless and futile

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Usage

What does Sisyphean mean? Sisyphean describes a task as seemingly endless and futile—you keep doing it but it never gets done. The word comes from the name of Sisyphus, a character in Greek mythology who was punished by being forced to continuously roll a boulder up a steep hill. Every time he was just about to get it to the top, the boulder would roll back down, and he’d have to start all over again. Because it’s based on a name, Sisyphean is often capitalized, but not always. It is especially used in the phrase Sisyphean task. Example: With a family of six, laundry is a Sisyphean task—it seems there is always another load to wash.

Etymology

Origin of Sisyphean

First recorded in 1625–35; from Greek Sīsýphe(ios), Sī́syph(ios) + -eios adjective suffix; Sisyphus, -an

Example Sentences

Much tougher, though, is the Sisyphean nature of his task.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

Who knows how long the tenacious tabby would have continued with this Sisyphean task had Rumi not stepped in?

From Salon • Jul. 2, 2025

Alas, Autumn’s struggle to leave town becomes Sisyphean.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2025

Baas’s “Sweeper’s Clock,” is perfectly functional — could I view it on an Apple Watch? — but it also works as a meditation on the Sisyphean, 24/7 task of dealing with the trash we generate.

From New York Times • May 2, 2024

Making himself useful as always, he took upon himself the Sisyphean task of keeping all those Modernist surfaces sparkling.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides