Sisyphean

[ sis-uh-fee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Sisyphus.
2. endless and unavailing, as labor or a task.

Sisyphean

/ ˌsɪsɪˈfiːən /

adjective

1. relating to Sisyphus
2. actually or seemingly endless and futile

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sisyphean¹

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

Example Sentences

Perhaps even more problematic is that legal enforcement of the policy itself is a Sisyphean task; there is no way it can be done.

From The Daily Beast

Trolling for notes every few months can be a Sisyphean task.

From The Daily Beast

Christian Dior designer Bill Gaytten had a near Sisyphean task in creating a spring 2012 ready-to-wear collection.

From The Daily Beast

Graduating into the Great Recession only added to the sense of Sisyphean striving.

From The Daily Beast

Chrysler nearly escaped its Sisyphean fate, with a hastily arranged “merger of equals” a decade ago, to Daimler-Benz.

From The Daily Beast

One evening I found him in his chambers engaged upon his Sisyphean labour of “tidying up.”

From Project Gutenberg

I was pleased, therefore, to be freed from the Sisyphean labors of the editorial office.

From Project Gutenberg

Is the Sisyphean stone of Home Rule, so laboriously rolled uphill, to again roll down, crushing in its fall the faithful rollers?

From Project Gutenberg

Without some such respite he could never have faced and carried through the almost Sisyphean task which awaited him at daylight.

From Project Gutenberg

It became clear that the zoologists had been attempting a task utterly Sisyphean.

From Project Gutenberg