menial

American  

[mee-nee-uhl, meen-yuhl] / ˈmi ni əl, ˈmin yəl /

adjective

1. lowly and sometimes degrading.

   menial work.

   Antonyms:

   dignified

2. servile; submissive.

   menial attitudes.

   Synonyms:

   fawning

   Antonyms:

   proud

3. pertaining to or suitable for domestic servants; humble.

   menial furnishings.

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noun

1. a domestic servant.

   Synonyms:

   lackey, hireling, underling, attendant

2. a servile person.

menial British  

/ ˈmiːnɪəl /

adjective

1. consisting of or occupied with work requiring little skill, esp domestic duties such as cleaning

2. of, involving, or befitting servants

3. servile

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noun

1. a domestic servant

2. a servile person

Related Words

See servile.

Other Word Forms

• menially adverb
• nonmenial adjective
• nonmenially adverb
• unmenial adjective
• unmenially adverb

Etymology

Origin of menial

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English meynyal, from Anglo-French me(i)nial; see meiny, -al ¹

Explanation

A menial task is anything that takes very little training, skill, or talent. Some people find it relaxing to do the menial chore of folding laundry. Go figure. The adjective menial comes from an Old French word, mensie, which means “household.” Many chores that get labeled as menial are domestic, but other jobs outside of the home are sometimes also considered menial: stuffing envelopes, data processing, repetitive assembly line work, brain surgery (OK, that last one is not considered menial; we were just checking to see if you were awake).

Example Sentences

While robots may be able to take over menial tasks, humans will be needed to supervise and repair complex fleets.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026

Guguyev said that the FSB called returned soldiers “lost trust” and that prisoners sent back to the front lines were given menial tasks that didn’t involve firearms, as they were no longer trusted.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

Edgerton recalls a moment cut from the film, in which the boss orders all the other workers to settle back into their menial tasks.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025

He found the most easy, menial tasks so challenging, like making a meal or walking the dog.

From BBC • Jul. 21, 2025

Little has changed for Peralta, a cook who has worked at menial jobs in the United States for fifteen years.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times