different between high-spirited vs strenuous

English

Pronunciation

Adjective

high-spirited (comparative more high-spirited, superlative most high-spirited)

1. Possessing a bold nature.
   • 1918, Jack London, "The Princess":

     "She was as fine a figure of a woman as I was a man, as high-spirited and courageous, as reckless and dare-devilish."

2. Energetic, exuberant, or high-strung.
   • 1950 Sept. 25, "Music: Out of the Corner," Time:

     Last week a group of four high-spirited folksters known as the Weavers had succeeded in shouting, twanging and crooning folk singing out of its cloistered corner.

Translations

English

Etymology

From Latin strenuus (“quick”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?st??nju?s/
• Hyphenation: stren?u?ous

Adjective

strenuous (comparative more strenuous, superlative most strenuous)

1. Having great vigour or energy; forceful.

   Synonyms: ardent, earnest, eager, energetic, determined, resolute, vigorous, zealous

2. (of a task) Requiring great exertion; very laborious
   • 1961: J. A. Philip. Mimesis in the Sophistês of Plato. In: Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association 92. p. 467.

     We can achieve this god?likeness only by unremitting and strenuous effort of the intellect.

Derived terms

Related terms

• strenuity
• strenuosity

Translations

Further reading

• strenuous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• strenuous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• strenuous at OneLook Dictionary Search