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Definitions

menial

[mee-nee-uhl, meen-yuhl] / ˈmi ni əl, ˈmin yəl /
ADJECTIVE
lowly, low-status
Synonyms
STRONG
base boring common humdrum low mean routine
WEAK
abject baseborn degrading demeaning dull fawning grovelling humble ignoble ignominious obeisant obsequious servile slavish sorry subservient sycophantic unskilled vile
Antonyms
STRONG
exciting high honest moral noble unusual
WEAK
elevated skilled superior talented

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By offloading the menial stuff to an artificial-intelligence, she says she has freed up time she wouldn’t otherwise have, which she now spends taking guitar and singing lessons.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

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

Luke has been waiting 65 years, doing menial work as a bartender in the Junction, hoping to be reunited with his love.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 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

These exercises distracted my mind from the menial tasks that fell to me as the lowest of Gertrude’s ladies.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.