Word · CEFR C1 · Frequency #18839
tedium
单调乏味；沉闷
the feeling of being bored by something tedious; dullness caused by length or slowness
- 1.
Boredom or tediousness; ennui.
厌倦；乏味；无聊
厌倦；乏味；无聊；单调乏味；沉闷
In use
After a week of doing the same tasks, the tedium of the job was hard to bear.
She tried to relieve the tedium of the long train ride by reading a book.
The constant meetings added to the tedium of the office routine.
the tedium of sth/doing sth
tedium 前面常用定冠词 the，后接 of 引出带来乏味的事物或动作。
The tedium of waiting in line made him restless.
排队的单调乏味让他焦躁不安。
relieve/break the tedium of sth
relieve 和 break 是 tedium 的常见动词搭配，表示“缓解/打破单调”。
She listened to a podcast to relieve the tedium of housework.
她听播客来缓解做家务的沉闷。
there is (a certain) tedium in sth/doing sth
用 there is... in... 结构，可表达“在……中存在乏味感”。
There is a certain tedium in checking the same data again and again.
反复检查同一份数据有一种单调乏味。
Common mistakes
The meeting was so tedium that I fell asleep.The meeting was so tedious that I fell asleep.
tedium 是名词，不能放在 so 后面作表语形容词；表示“令人厌烦的”要用形容词 tedious。中文“单调乏味”是形容词性表达，直接对应英文名词会造成词性误用。
I felt a tedium during the long lecture.I felt tedium during the long lecture.
tedium 通常作不可数名词，不能加不定冠词 a；表示“感到乏味”时直接说 felt tedium，不需冠词。
He complained about the tedium with his daily routine.He complained about the tedium of his daily routine.
表达“……的乏味”时，tedium 后用介词 of 引出令人厌烦的对象（类似 boredom of），不能用 with。
Connections
Collocations
- relieve the tedium
- 解除单调；解闷
- She listened to music to relieve the tedium of the long train ride.她听音乐来解除漫长火车旅途中的单调。
- the tedium of daily routine
- 日常事务的枯燥乏味
- He found the tedium of daily routine almost unbearable.他觉得日常事务的枯燥乏味几乎难以忍受。
- sheer tedium
- 十足的乏味；极度的沉闷
- The sheer tedium of the task made him want to quit.这项任务十足的乏味让他想放弃。
- escape the tedium
- 摆脱单调乏味
- They went on a weekend trip to escape the tedium of city life.他们周末出游，以摆脱城市生活的单调乏味。
- break the tedium
- 打破沉闷；调剂枯燥
- A short coffee break helped break the tedium of the meeting.短暂的咖啡休息帮助打破了会议的沉闷。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记忆联想：形容词 tedious（冗长乏味的）的对应名词是 tedium；想象一场拖沓冗长的会议，那种沉闷无聊感就是 tedium。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：书面文章、正式演讲、文学描写 tedium 为中性词，但比 boredom 稍正式，多用于书面或较正式场合；日常口语中用 boredom 更自然。
Grammar Note
该名词的复数形式为 tediums 或 tedia。
Pronunciation & Spelling
只有 medium 与 tedium 真正押韵（都以 /diəm/ 结尾且重音在首音节）。注意形近异音词：tedious /ˈtiːdiəs/ 以 /diəs/ 结尾，stadium /ˈsteɪdiəm/ 和 sodium /ˈsoʊdiəm/ 的重读元音不同，均不押韵。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY.