time-consuming
5 synonyms and 4 antonyms for time-consuming, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Taking a great deal of time to do, especially more than seems warranted.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
laborious
drawn-out
Antonyms
How to use time-consuming
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
time-consuming task
time-consuming process
expensive and time-consuming
increasingly time-consuming
Neutral, common in business and academic writing. It carries a faint note of complaint — writers rarely call something time-consuming as a compliment.
Frequently asked questions
Is time-consuming hyphenated?
Yes, in almost all careful writing, whether it comes before the noun ("a time-consuming task") or after the verb ("the task is time-consuming"). Some American style guides allow the open form after a verb, but the hyphen is never wrong.
What is the difference between time-consuming and difficult?
Time-consuming describes how long something takes; difficult describes how hard it is. A job can be one without the other — sorting a thousand envelopes is time-consuming but easy, while solving one equation may be difficult but quick.
