effortful

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.

She smiled at him as they hauled themselves up it—a brief flash of teeth, effortful but gallant—and tried to wring the water from her clothes.

From Literature

Compton is impossibly charming, effortfully erudite, and enjoys the status that comes with his stardom.

From Los Angeles Times

A 2021 meta-analysis of the impact of videogames found that some games have educational benefits, but heavy gaming can also “lead to addiction and impair ability to focus on effortful goal oriented behavior.”

From The Wall Street Journal

For all that, the performances were nonetheless on the stiff side, the famously virtuosic orchestra effortfully coming to terms with the unfamiliar.

From Los Angeles Times

The film is a feat of maximalist and moody production design and cinematography, but the tedious and overwrought script renders every character two-dimensional, despite the effortful acting and teary pronunciations.

From Los Angeles Times