Menial: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Menial adjective. Of work: unskilled, lowly and often dull.
How to say it
MEE-nee-ul/ˈmiːnɪəl/
3 syllables, stressed on the first (MEE).
Menial in a sentence
Graduates often take menial jobs for a year while they work out what to do.
No task was too menial for the founder, who still emptied the bins on Fridays.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- lowly
- humble
- servile
- unskilled
Opposite:
- skilled
- prestigious
Where menial comes from
From Anglo-Norman meinial, belonging to a household, from meinie, a household.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
No task was too _____ for the founder, who still emptied the bins on Fridays.
- menial
- peripatetic
- workmanlike
Show the answer
menial: No task was too menial for the founder, who still emptied the bins on Fridays.